Matchmaker

Li Wei glanced at the house number of the small manor before him, then lowered his head to check the address Li Ming had written for him.

161 Ziguang Street. That was correct; this was the home of the councilor to whom Li Ming's niece had been sold.

Before officially setting out to collect the debt, Li Wei intended to fulfill the agreement he had made with Li Ming, lest things escalate later and make this matter difficult to handle.

After locating the address, he did not act rashly. Instead, he found a nearby alley, leaned his back against the wall, and kept watch in front of number 161.

He waited until around 10:00 AM, when a woman dressed as a maid finally drove out of the manor gates, appearing to be heading out to procure ingredients for the estate.

Just as Li Wei noted the car's license plate number and stepped onto the main street, intending to hail a taxi to the nearest market, a plump middle-aged woman with wavy hair suddenly blocked his path.

The woman wore a smile, eyeing Li Wei as if she had already figured something out.

"Sir, are you here to look for a friend?"

Li Wei, intercepted, raised an eyebrow. He met the woman's gaze, neither confirming nor denying.

"What do you want?"

"Sir, we are in the business of matchmaking. I've seen you standing here for a long time, and you don't look like you're waiting for anyone. Men who come to this street are either looking for a future or a marriage. The future is handled by the councilor, but if it's a marriage you're after, perhaps I can help."

She took Li Wei by the arm and led him back into the inconspicuous alley, then pulled a photo album from her bosom and handed it to him with a mysterious air.

Li Wei skeptically flipped through the album, finding photos and information about various young women.

The information was remarkably thorough; not only did it include age, name, height, and weight, but most entries even listed whether they had siblings, what they did, and where they lived!

Seeing this, Li Wei finally realized what the middle-aged woman was.

She was a matchmaking agent, or rather, a matchmaker!

Noticing Li Wei's surprised expression, the woman assumed he was marveling at the excellent backgrounds of the girls in her hands, and she couldn't help but boast triumphantly.

"Don't worry about their family backgrounds, sir. These girls are all from respectable families in Yaoguang and have signed formal employment contracts with the employers on this street. You don't have to worry about running into some trashy women who only want to climb the social ladder but fail!"

Li Wei quickly finished flipping through the thick album and realized that the resources this matchmaker held were all maids from this street.

The status of a maid was clearly awkward; their social standing was low, yet they lived in affluent environments, meaning they were looked down upon by those of higher status, while they themselves looked down upon those of lower status.

Consequently, the maids on this street were essentially dependent on these matchmakers.

Having figured this out, Li Wei, who had originally intended to approach other servants in the councilor's house to inquire about Li Ming's niece, changed his plan.

He snapped the album shut, looked at the matchmaker, and said, "I'll be blunt, sister. I've actually been infatuated with a lady on this street for a long time. I came here today to try my luck and see if I could run into her. Do you happen to have any information on her?"

Calling her "sister" made the matchmaker's face bloom with joy.

"Oh! With your looks, sir, any lady you fancy would be yours for the taking! Tell me her name, and even if I don't have her on my books, I'll certainly help you make the connection!"

"Su Ya. She works at the councilor's house at 161."

Upon hearing the name Li Wei reported, the matchmaker frowned. She searched her memory, shook her head, and asked, "That's not right. I know all the girls at 161. Did you get the name wrong? There is no maid named Su Ya in that councilor's house."

"She shouldn't be from Yaoguang. She came from Yuguang."

Hearing this, the matchmaker's expression changed instantly.

When she looked up at Li Wei again, her face was filled with disdain and impatience.

"I am here to match girls with good men, not to act as a pimp! If you are looking for such a slut to sleep with, I'm sorry, I asked the wrong person. You should go find that man surnamed Yan on Hongle Street!"

With that, she turned to leave, no longer offering Li Wei any courtesy. However, Li Wei grabbed her arm, and just as she was about to start cursing in her impatience, he pulled out ten hundred-dollar bills and stuffed them into her hand.

"Sleeping with her is fine too. Just consider it a favor to me. Could you please introduce me to that agent surnamed Yan?"

Having taken the money, the matchmaker found she couldn't walk away, and her expression finally returned to a smile.

She figured Li Wei was already blinded by lust and beyond saving, to be interested in goods from Yuguang, even wanting to pay for them!

But no one turns away money, especially when Li Wei was so generous. The matchmaker personally led him to Hongle Street and found the young man surnamed Yan at a place with a sign reading "Human Resources Company."

When he heard who Li Wei was looking for, his expression turned playful and strange, but he quickly pulled a photo from a stack in his drawer, clamped a cigarette in his mouth, and slapped it down in front of Li Wei.

"Take a look. Is this her?"

Seeing the woman in the photo—with delicate features and a gentle, quiet temperament, yet a face clearly showing signs of gloom and exhaustion—Li Wei nodded.

"What a coincidence. Her? She was sold to us by Councilor Wang a year ago. Rumor has it she seduced the master of the house and had an affair with the driver, even bearing a child. Most from Yuguang are like this, but the upside is they are good in bed and know all the tricks. Our prices are fair: 500 a night, do whatever you want with her, provided she doesn't die, get crippled, or get disfigured. Otherwise, you pay three times our purchase price."

Hearing the pimp surnamed Yan, Li Wei slowly set down the photo and asked in a calm voice, "Does she take clients during the day?"

"In such a rush, brother?" The pimp stubbed out his cigarette. "But then again, every day you play is one day less. Daytime is fine, billed by the hour. 80 an hour. I'll give you the address; just have that bitch keep track of the time, and pay her directly."

His words were strange, but Li Wei didn't ask further. He took the note from him, walked out, and followed the address to the end of Hongle Street, finding the room among the same dilapidated shacks as those in Yuguang.

The door to the room was ajar. He didn't knock; he simply pushed the door open and walked in.