The woman was the owner of the hotel, and after dragging Liu Mang inside, she wanted to take him upstairs, "Handsome, you're in luck today. We just got a beautiful young lady, fresh and pure—I guarantee you'll like her."
Liu Mang was perplexed. Young, beautiful, and pure—what did that have to do with him?
Liu Mang stopped in his tracks, "Sister, there's no need to go upstairs, I just want to ask something here. Wasn't this place the Sih Ming Pharmacy before?"
"Sih Ming Pharmacy?" The landlady frowned upon hearing this, her enthusiasm diminished considerably as she sized up Liu Mang, "You're looking for someone? You're not planning to find someone from the Sih Ming Pharmacy, are you?"
Liu Mang said, "Yeah, that's right. I am looking for people from the Sih Ming Pharmacy. I heard this place used to be it. Do you know where the people from Sih Ming Pharmacy are now?"
Liu Mang's trip to Jiangnan City was something he had looked forward to for quite a while.
He had been hoping to find the Sih Ming Pharmacy to have a place to stay; now that the pharmacy was gone, hopefully, he could find the people who were associated with it.
"Them? Hard to say," the landlady let go of Liu Mang's hand, walked to the cash register to grab a pack of cigarettes, lit one for herself, and began to speak as she smoked, "That was over ten years ago. This place used to be a wooden building. Somehow it caught fire, a big pharmacy gone just like that. The people from Sih Ming Pharmacy, I heard they didn't die, but some got burnt."
"So where are they now?"
"Well, I really don't know about that. However, I've heard that there's a new Sih Ming Pharmacy that opened in Jiangnan City, not sure if it's run by the same people."
"Where is it?"
The landlady spread her hands, "How would I know that?"
"Okay then, I'll go look for it myself. Thanks, sister," Liu Mang said.
"Hey, wait a minute." Seeing that Liu Mang was about to leave, the landlady hurriedly called him back, "You know just how big Jiangnan City is, hm? Over ten million people, even the stores on the street aren't so easy to find. It's already dark out, it wouldn't be too late to continue looking tomorrow. Listen to your sister, stay here tonight, and you can continue looking first thing in the morning."
Liu Mang looked at the darkening sky outside and realized she was right. It would be hard to find anything in the dark and unfamiliar place, and there was no rush until tomorrow. "How much for one night?" he asked.
The landlady said with a smile, "It's free, you can stay for free at my place. As long as you give me a quick massage, you can stay for free."
"Massage?" Liu Mang had heard about it more than once before. Every time the village chief went out on business and came back, he would talk it up so much, making many men in the village feel itchy.
Liu Mang was beginning to feel itchy himself, "How much per session?"
"Not expensive, sixty for a small one, six hundred for a big one," she replied.
Liu Mang had no clue what she meant by 'small' or 'big,' "Why such a big difference?"
"Playing dumb with me, are you?" She threw a flirtatious wink at Liu Mang and pulled him upstairs, sending him into a room on the third floor, "You wait here, someone will be with you shortly."
After the landlady left, Liu Mang closed the door and surveyed the room.
It was a small room with a bed and a desk, and that was about it for furniture.
There was a small door, likely leading to the bathroom.
The walls were covered with floral wallpaper, which was peeling and flaking off in many places; the bedding on the bed was old and tattered, the place was not even as good as his little den in the village.
Having somewhere to stay was better than nowhere at all; he wasn't in a position to be picky. Liu Mang set down his backpack, took out his last bun for dinner, and then washed his face in the bathroom.
By the time he came back from the bathroom, the landlady was Back, this time with a young woman who was dressed flamboyantly.
Liu Mang glanced at the young woman—she appeared to be in her early twenties, not much older than him.
Her face wasn't exactly beautiful, but she was acceptable.
However, taking a good look at the woman's attire, Liu Mang couldn't help but be taken aback by how little fabric was there.
With a beaming smile, the landlady said to the woman, "It's not often you get such a handsome boss; Xiao Mei, make sure you take good care of him. Handsome, just enjoy yourself and pay Xiao Mei when you're done," she said.
After bringing the woman over, the landlady quickly left, leaving Liu Mang and Xiao Mei alone in the room.
Xiao Mei had a bag in her hand and was giving Liu Mang a coquettish smile, seeming pleased that her client was a young guy. She gave him a deep bow and said, "Hello, boss. Please give me lots of guidance."
With that bow, Liu Mang was almost mesmerized.
Under his gaze, Xiao Mei sat on the edge of the bed, lifting her feet to take off her shoes. She called Liu Mang over, and when he hesitated, she pulled him over with determination.