Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The girl sat down. After some thought, she said, “I’m Liu Xinyu. I’m fourteen years old this year. I know that when you came to this village, you would definitely think that this village has always been so poor and down. But actually… it’s not like that… This village used to be great. It was the best, happiest village in the world. Every day, people would happily go to work together. The children would attend school together. There was no end to the fathers’ laughters and mothers’ reprimanding…”

When Liu Xinyu said this, she hugged her knees with both hands and placed her chin on her knees. Her face was filled with happiness…

Liu Xinyu continued, “It’s true. The village back then was beautiful. Unfortunately, everything disappeared within a year…”

“A year?” Fangzheng wore a look of disbelief. In modern society, if there were no ghosts, what could make a prosperous village become like this within a year?

Liu Xinyu looked into the distance at a middle-aged man who took two steps forward and skipped twice. He had his mouth open as he smiled foolishly while drooling. “That’s Uncle Song Jianguo. He used to be a very good person. Every time he came back from work, he would buy us some delicious food… Unfortunately, sigh…”

Red Boy turned anxious. “What happened?”

Liu Xinyu shook her head and said, “I don’t know where I should start from either. I’ll just say whatever that comes to my mind.”

Fangzheng gestured for Red Boy not to be anxious and to listen quietly.

Liu Xinyu thought for a while and said, “This should go back to New Year’s last year. Back then, Daddy was still at home, and my mother didn’t leave either. Everything was fine. Every day, I woke up, ate the breakfast that Mommy made, and Daddy drove me to school on a motorcycle. But most of the time, Uncle Song came earlier than my dad. He would always call my dad to work at the farm market by the side. Uncle Song was the most diligent person in the village. Not only did he work at the farm market, but he also had a van. After he modified it, he used it to do transportation of goods… His family also did business services such as paying for electricity and phone bills.

“My father wasn’t like him. My father is a very honest person. He goes to the farm market early every day, and then he stays there to work. But my father also earned quite a lot, and our family was living pretty well… We had food to eat every meal, new clothes to wear during festivals. During the New Year, my mom bought a pair of gold earrings. It was her treasure… She wore them every day, asking me if they looked good on her.

“That was the happiest day in my memories…

Upon saying this, Liu Xinyu’s gaze turned a little blank. It was as though she was deep in thought. The corners of her mouth subconsciously curled up, but the next moment, tears began streaming down her face… Fangzheng and Red Boy felt their hearts ache when they saw this.

They could not imagine what had happened to the family to be so devastated!

Liu Xinyu didn’t lose herself to her emotions. She quickly wiped her tears and smiled shyly. “I’m sorry, I was distracted…”

“It’s fine. Sometimes, memory is indeed the best shelter.”

When Liu Xinyu heard this, her tears flowed even more. In the end, she could not help but hug her head in pain. She said in a low and hoarse voice, “I miss my mom… Sob…”

When Fangzheng saw this, he sighed and gently patted Liu Xinyu’s back. Red Boy dug out his pockets and found nothing. Finally, he had no choice. He raised the monk robes and said, “Sis, wipe your face.”

When Liu Xinyu saw Red Boy lift up his clothes and reveal his round belly, she couldn’t help but laugh in amusement.

With Red Boy’s interruption, Liu Xinyu’s mood calmed down significantly. After some thought, she continued, “Uncle Song’s family was better than ours. However, Uncle Song is especially nice. As long as he’s out, he will buy some good food and share some with us kids. I love eating the roasted duck he bought the most. It smelled especially good…”

Upon saying this, Liu Xinyu suddenly stood up and exclaimed, “Uncle…”

Fangzheng looked over and saw that Song Jianguo had fallen and was rolling on the ground. He did not get up.

Fangzheng hurriedly signaled to Red Boy before running over to help him up together with Liu Xinyu.

However, Liu Xinyu quickly turned around and shouted, “Don’t come over!”

Fangzheng did not understand what Liu Xinyu meant. Why did her gaze look like she was guarding against a thief? Also, could a girl help lift up a man that weighed so much? Therefore, Fangzheng subconsciously took two more steps forward.

However, Song Jianguo, who was lying on the ground, suddenly widened his eyes as he glared at Fangzheng. His gaze was like a mouse seeing a cat! He suddenly jumped up and yelled, “You’re here again! You’re here again… I don’t have money. I don’t have money…”

Song Jianguo then ran off…

Liu Xinyu hurriedly chased after him. Fangzheng helplessly patted Red Boy on the head. Red Boy flicked his finger. Song Jianguo slowed down and was eventually caught up by Liu Xinyu. With the help of the others, they sent Song Jianguo home.

After sitting down again, Liu Xinyu sighed and said, “Ah… Uncle Song can’t see outsiders now. When he sees an unfamiliar face, he runs around in fear.”

Fangzheng asked, “What exactly happened to make this place turn into this?”

Liu Xinyu took a deep breath and spat out words that she hated deeply. “Demolition and relocation!”

Red Boy was taken aback. “Demolition and relocation?”

Liu Xinyu nodded and said, “That’s right. It’s the monster known as demolition and relocation that caused all the villagers to be possessed…”

With that said, Liu Xinyu fell into deep thought again and said, “After the new year, the village suddenly received a notice saying that our village and the other two villages will be included in the relocation plans in the future. Our place will be demolished to make way for a hospital… Furthermore, every household will receive a large amount of compensation. The notice from the government was written in black and white. There were also official stamps.

“When everyone saw the notice, the entire village was in an uproar.”

Fangzheng immediately understood what was happening when he heard that…

Liu Xinyu continued, “Back then, there was so much news about the relocation. My dad, who never used a cell phone, deliberately went out to buy a smartphone and got me to teach him how to go online. The purpose of going onto the Internet was to check how much people received when they had their place demolished… I remember that when he was most excited, he jumped around in the house and shouted, “Look at Shenzhen, every household was given 100 million yuan! We don’t need 100 million yuan! Just a million would do! We’re rich, haha…”

“Although it was later verified that it was fake news and the compensation wasn’t that much, there was still tens of millions of yuan. In addition, we were given apartments. Hence, the relocation of families in Shenzhen really made them rich.

“This also triggered the entire village. Everyone felt that they were going to be rich… filthy rich.

“It was also from that day onwards that dad, who had always been diligent, started to laze. He did not like to wake up in the morning and he went later and later to the market. Eventually, he decided to go based on his mood.