Midnight Bookstore

At the junkyard, there was a shack that had been built amidst the piles of junk. The shack had four rooms and a gas stove set up outside for cooking. The old woman was standing there cooking. Her cooking skills were not bad. She was in a good mood. She was humming the local folk songs.

The hunchbacked old man sat on the threshold. He had a cigarette in his mouth and was smoking it. He put down the cigarette when it had almost burned out to the filter. At his feet, there were cigarette butts all over the floor.

“Your singing is annoying.” The hunchbacked old man complained.

“It’s not for you to hear, why are you so annoyed?” The woman twisted her waist and looked at him. She was old and not good-looking but he had a natural urge to tickle her.

“You can sing at a time when business is not good?” The hunchbacked old man asked curiously. “We’ve collected too many goods this time. If we can’t sell it, we’ll lose money.”

“So be it. Haven’t you earned enough these years?” The woman glanced at the hunchbacked old man with disdain. “Your eldest son, second son, and third son have all married. The new house in the village has been built. You’ve earned enough. If you really can’t sell it, you can just take it back to warm your bed. Isn’t that enough?”

“Hmph. I might as well just take you if I wanted a woman.” The hunchbacked old man scolded jokingly.

“You old thing. You’ve been blinded silly… I was kidnapped once by you when I was seventeen years old… You want to kidnap me for a second time?”

“I say, you old woman, the way you cried when you were kidnapped back then… Now that you’re in this line of work, you’re really ruthless.”

The hunchbacked old man knew the woman’s background and her reputation. She was well known as the “Matchmaker.” If you can’t get a wife, look for her. She can help you get one.

“What? No way. Life is like a mouth. Don’t I want to eat?” The woman picked up the dishes. “Cooking is done. Let’s eat when the Third Brother comes back. I’ll send some food over to the people inside.”

“Hey, there’s something I don’t understand.” The hunchbacked old man reached out to grab the woman’s hand and asked, “It’s easy to trick some young and ignorant girls. Why did the Third Brother insist on capturing the little girl in the city this time?”

“There are so many cameras in the city. Isn’t it too risky? They specifically want this kind of good-looking girl with a good background. Isn’t this courting death?”

“Third Brother has his reasons. Why were you in such a hurry to get rid of it? You took the initiative yesterday to find the Dark clan to sell the girl into the club. Fortunately, they took it. Didn’t you see the Third Brother’s eyes turn red when he came back and found that the girl wasn’t there?”

“So what if it’s red?” The hunchbacked old man said in a bad mood, “This girl’s actions are too dirty. If she had acted earlier, we wouldn’t have been implicated. We would have suffered a great loss!”

“Third Brother yesterday…” the woman lowered her voice and whispered to the hunchbacked old man, “He was so anxious that he wanted to kill someone.”

The hunchbacked old man was shocked and asked doubtfully, “What happened? It can’t be. I didn’t plan to sell the money and take it all for myself. This… This girl is very important to the Third Brother. Don’t think about anything else. This is the last deal. After we’re done, you and I are going to retire.”

“I’m warning you. Don’t be so scared all your life. You didn’t get caught by the police, but you might die in the hands of your own people. Don’t underestimate the Third Brother who is usually smiling and easy to talk to. I’ve heard that in the early years, the Third Brother had a lot of people’s lives in his hands.”

The hunchbacked old man nodded, indicating that he understood. He silently took out his cigarette. He lit the lighter a few times because his hands were shaking, but he couldn’t light it.

The woman glanced at the hunchbacked old man who was clearly panicking in fear. She rolled her eyes and carried the food into the house.

In the house, there were three people. Two older girls and one young one. The two older people were around twenty years old. Their hands and feet were tied, and their mouths were tightly shut. When they saw her enter, their eyes filled with panic and pleading.

The woman snorted. She placed the food in front of them. She said, “When I let you eat, don’t shout. This is the suburbs. No one can hear you even if you shout until your throat is broken! I’ve been through this before. Anyway, what’s done is done. You should cooperate.”

“When you are sold, you should listen to them and suffer less. When you give birth to two children for them, your days will pass just like that. Even if you want to go home then and visit, it’s still okay, alright? Don’t you dare shout. Behave or I’ll tear your tongues apart! I know all the tricks very well!”

As she spoke, the woman removed the cloth strips from the mouths of the two older girls. They were not in a hurry to eat. Instead, they cried and begged the woman to let them go.

“You are not smart. You’ve already reached this stage, yet you still cry like a baby. You won’t eat? If you don’t want to eat, then don’t eat!” The woman tugged at their hair and lifted their heads. She stuffed the cloth back into their mouths.

They wouldn’t starve to death even in two days anyway. These two women didn’t have to wait too long. The Third Brother had already gone out to make a sale. He would probably send them to the buyers in the afternoon. As long as they were sent to a village in the mountains, it would be another world. It would be difficult for the police to save them.

The woman knew about those two villages. Half of the women in the entire village had been abducted. Everyone in the village, young and old, had a common enemy in this sense. They were watching these women together. They would never let any of the women from their families escape. People could not lose their money. The human traffickers were also safe.

The woman walked to another corner where a very exquisite girl was sitting with her hands tied up. The girl’s eyes were filled with confusion and fear.

“Here, eat this.” The woman handed over a steamed bun.

Wang Rui took the steamed bun. She nodded and said, “Thank you”. Then, she brought the steamed bun to her mouth and took a bite. Before she could chew, tears began to roll in her eyes.

The woman looked at the pitiful look on the little girl’s face. Despite her stone heart, the woman’s heart melted a little. However, she has been good at strangling this feeling for a long time now.

She was kidnapped and sold into the mountains when she was young. When she escaped with great difficulty, her family abandoned her. They locked her outside the door. They felt that she was a disgrace! She decided then she will do unto others what was done to her.

“Just eat obediently and don’t make a fuss.” The woman put down two more steamed buns. She got up and walked out.

The three females were left in the house. The two adult ones kept sobbing. Wang Rui sat there silently. She held the steamed buns in her hands. She was very afraid. She didn’t know why she was here. It was as if she had been in a dream for a long time and when she woke, she was tied up here.

If one looked carefully, one could see that there was a lump of black stuff constantly flickering deep in Wang Rui’s eyes. It was trying to get out but failed time and time again. This caused Wang Rui’s pupils to turn black for a while and then return to normal.

The Bodhisattva statue sat on the table in the middle of the room, the one with Black Dog’s blood smeared on the bottom. The statue was trembling slightly. It was swaying so weakly that it was impossible to notice it without careful observation.

Finally, the statue was about to shake to the edge of the table. It was about to fall. The color in Wang Rui’s eyes began to stir even more.

Wang Rui herself did not notice. She took a bite of the steamed bun and then another. She remembered what her father had told her. In the face of danger and bad people, it was useless to cry all the time or fight.

Only the thought of her father kept Wang Rui from completely panicking and losing her sense of propriety. It was not that Wang Rui was psychologically better than the other two older girls. Wang Rui was young and innocent so she knew very little. She believed her father would soon appear to rescue her.

In the corner, Wang Rui’s shadow began to shake. It was as if there was a person locked inside trying hard to escape.

Finally, the Bodhisattva statue was about to fall. It was almost there!

At this time, the door was pushed open again. The old driver who had been drinking and bragging with the Old Priest yesterday walked in with a smile on his face. The old man was still wearing his sunglasses.

He first looked at the two older girls and didn’t say anything. Instead, he walked to a corner of the wall and looked at Wang Rui. She was eating a steamed bun while choking with sobs.

“Yes, you should eat something.” The old man bent down. He reached out and touched Wang Rui’s head. He could feel the trembling on Wang Rui’s body when he placed his hand on her head.

“Don’t be afraid. Grandfather likes girls who are obedient the most. I’ll take you to see your parents tonight. You eat obediently and don’t make a scene, understand?”

Wang Rui nodded silently. She knew she needed to eat. Otherwise, she would be hungry. She wouldn’t have the strength when her father found her if she was hungry. She wouldn’t be able to walk anymore.

The old man gave a slight “Eh”. He squatted down and grabbed Wang Rui’s face. He looked into her eyes. He seemed to have seen a flash of light in Wang Rui’s eyes.

After looking carefully, he realized that there was nothing there. His eyes must be playing tricks on him.

Sigh…

He was getting old. It seemed like he really had to retire.

He stood up. The old driver planned to go out for dinner. He had already found the seller for the two older girls and would send them over in the afternoon. He had also contacted the seller for this girl and would personally send them over tonight.

The girl’s buyer had given him a deposit in advance. They had specified that they wanted this kind of young girl from the city. The price was high. He could retire with the deposit and the rest of the money.

As he walked out, he passed by the table. He saw that the Bodhisattva statue was placed on the edge of the table. It looked like it would fall at any moment. The old man picked up the statue and placed it back in the middle of the table.

Then, he clapped his hands and pushed the door open. He walked out.

When the old man left, a roar that could not be captured by the humans began to reverberate in the room.

She was very angry.

She was very mad.

She was so close!!!