From Broken Family to Life Winner: A Reborn Mother's Journey

Su Li and Captain Zhang exchanged a glance. Just as Captain Zhang was about to speak again, the door opened.

Song Shengfu, a man with monolids, sallow hair, and a malnourished look, peeked at them through the crack in the door.

Song Shengfu was thin and not very tall, and he had a habit of keeping his head down. After opening the door, he quickly glanced up before lowering his head again.

Su Li was on the taller side, so she could see the top of his head.

”Sorry to bother you again. May we come in and take a look?”

Captain Zhang offered a smile, his tone as gentle as he could make it.

Song Shengfu glanced up at Captain Zhang again, his expression clearly showing his reluctance. In the end, however, he seemed to give in out of fear, slowly stepping aside to open the door wider.

Captain Zhang entered first, with Su Li a step behind him, followed by the other officers on the team.

Just as Su Li began to survey the courtyard, she heard Song Shengfu suddenly speak in a low voice beside her.

”I know you.”

Su Li was surprised. ”Huh? Are you talking to me?”

Song Shengfu spoke again, looking up at Su Li with another quick glance and biting his lip. ”I’ve seen you on TV.”

Su Li paused for a moment. ”Yes, I’m a reporter for the TV station. I’m here today to gather material for a story.”

Song Shengfu said no more, simply standing there.

Song Shengfu’s property consisted of a single, old-looking one-story house with a tile roof. The yard was small, and the concrete ground was stained with black water. The moment they stepped inside the gate, a strange smell assaulted their nostrils.

Su Li followed the smell with her eyes toward the back of the house, where she could hear the sound of oinking pigs and clucking chickens.

Song Shengfu’s ”farm”—if you could call it that—now only raised pigs and chickens, the most profitable livestock. The black water stains in the yard were, unsurprisingly, from pig and chicken waste.

”Are the pigpen and chicken coop back here?”

Captain Zhang asked Song Shengfu.

Song Shengfu, who was trailing a few steps behind, nodded.

Captain Zhang sized up the place. Song Shengfu’s house didn’t look very big, but the area expanded considerably when you included the pigpen and chicken coop in the back.

As he assessed the property, he started to head toward the back of the house.

Seeing this, Song Shengfu finally reacted. He hurried forward and said, ”It’s very dirty and smelly back there.”

”It’s fine.” Captain Zhang could already tell from the smell, but he stopped and looked at Su Li anyway.

”You should probably wait here.” ’The path is covered in pig manure mixed with who-knows-what, water or urine. It’s just too filthy. A neat young woman like Su Li shouldn’t go in there.’

”It’s fine, let’s go.” Su Li, however, didn’t mind.

The group entered the backyard, which served as the farm. The pigpen was low-set, somewhat similar to modern ones, but it was far from clean and tidy.

There were about a dozen pigs of various sizes, plus a few piglets. The moment they saw people, they started squealing and ramming the gate of the pen.

These weren’t the common large white pigs of later generations, but black pigs. They were caked in liquid manure, not a clean one among them, and the smell had a certain... fermented quality.

Captain Zhang and Su Li exchanged a look, both remaining silent—it was so foul they were holding their breath.

Su Li kept her mouth shut tight and couldn’t help but cover her ears.

’I knew pigs squealed loudly when being slaughtered, and that their squeals when hungry aren’t as loud as their death cries. But only today did I realize that the collective sound from all these pigs was also incredibly loud and piercing.’

Seeing people enter, the pigs squealed and rammed the gate relentlessly. That, combined with the smell and the environment, made one want to flee the place.

Captain Zhang frowned, enduring the stench as he asked, ”Is the chicken coop over here?”

”Yeah.” Song Shengfu was probably used to the environment and the smell. He seemed just as calm here as he had been outside.

After inspecting the pigpen, Captain Zhang went to look at the chicken coop. This area was less damp. A wooden coop was built on a raised frame over the ground, housing roughly a hundred chickens. When they saw people approach, they too began to squawk, scrambling over each other to push their way out.

Just walking up to the coop, they were hit by the stench of chicken droppings mixed with an indescribable foul, fishy odor. It was every bit as bad as the pigpen, if not more unbearable.

Su Li stood to the side, able to see a thick layer of chicken droppings and feathers on the ground inside the coop. It was clearly a long-term accumulation, which only made the smell more potent.

And on top of that mess lay some eggs, which looked incredibly dirty. Needless to say, they were laid by the hens inside.

Captain Zhang was about to go in for a closer look when Song Shengfu, after a moment of hesitation, scratched himself and spoke up.

”There are fleas in there.”

Captain Zhang froze. ”Fleas?”

Su Li reflexively glanced down at her legs. Her mind instantly flashed back to the fleas she had encountered right after she was reborn.

’The villagers who raised chickens and dogs had fleas. If you walked past their coops, the fleas would jump on you, and their bites really hurt.’

And as Su Li looked, to her dismay, she actually saw a flea land on her.

Without a second thought, Su Li quickly swatted at it. After knocking the flea off, she took a step back. Looking closer, she could see more fleas hopping around on the ground.

For a moment, Su Li’s expression was indescribable.

Captain Zhang had already gotten closer, and by the time he was warned, a flea had already gotten on him. Whether it was psychological or not, he immediately felt as if he’d been bitten.

”I’m sorry... I’ll spray methamidophos tomorrow.”

Song Shengfu stammered apologetically, wringing his hands as if he had made some terrible mistake.

”It’s fine, you don’t need to apologize.” Captain Zhang didn’t know what else to say. He slapped his legs and peered inside.

”What’s that room in there for?”

”It’s empty. I used to raise rabbits in there, but rabbit meat doesn’t sell well, so I stopped,” Song Shengfu replied.

Captain Zhang glanced at the room but didn’t insist on seeing it. When he turned back, the pigs started squealing again, and his head began to throb.

He took one last look around, and seeing nothing else out of the ordinary, he led the way out.

Leaving the backyard and returning to the front yard, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Doing their best to ignore the squealing pigs, Captain Zhang calmly inspected the two rooms and the main hall.

He didn’t find anything unusual.

Finally, Captain Zhang pointed to the area behind a fence in the yard. ”Is that part of your property too?”

”Yes, it used to be a vegetable patch.” Song Shengfu was very cooperative.

Captain Zhang looked and frowned. He could see traces of the old vegetable patch, but now it was completely overgrown with weeds.

”Is that a pond in the middle?”

”It used to be a pond. Now it’s a manure pit,” Song Shengfu remained honest.

Captain Zhang rubbed his nose. ”No wonder.”

”Thank you for your cooperation.” Seeing nothing unusual, Captain Zhang exchanged a look with Su Li, and they left.

Just before walking out, Su Li took one last look at the yard. For a split second, her gaze turned strange. A flicker of understanding crossed her eyes, but she said nothing.

Song Shengfu immediately shut the door behind them.

Captain Zhang and Su Li got in the car and drove off. Halfway down the road, Su Li suddenly spoke up.

”Captain Zhang, the missing person... is probably at Song Shengfu’s house.”

”What?” Captain Zhang, who had been feeling itchy all over and was checking himself for fleas, suddenly turned grim. ”What did you find?”