CH 37

Sally.

Zhen Zhen woke up. Her whole body ached. She could smell smoke before she opened her eyes.

‘If you’re awake, get out of bed,’ Sally said. She lit another cigarette and smoked. ‘You cost me money to save you. You have to work off your debt.’

Zhen Zhen opened her eyes. A woman dressed in a skimpy outfit with thick makeup was sitting on the bed next to her.

‘Where am I?’ Zhen Zhen asked.

‘You’re lucky I saved you at the bottom of a cliff,’ Sally said. ‘This is my brothel, Dui Lan. You can call me Sally.’

‘Thank you for saving me,’ Zhen Zhen said.

‘Don’t thank me too soon,’ Sally said. ‘I’m not a compassionate charity worker. You owe me money for buying your medicine. You have to work for me to pay me back.’

Sally hit the jackpot when she found Zhen Zhen. Zhen Zhen was going to help her take her rival Lily down a notch.

‘What type of work?’ Zhen Zhen asked.

‘Anyone who walks through my door, can’t walk out without my permission,’ Sally said. ‘I’ll look after you if you’re an obedient worker. Dui Lan isn’t an ordinary brothel. It’s a brothel for rich guests. If you make my guests happy, you won’t need to worry about money.’

Zhen Zhen knew if she wanted to find a way to contact Yue Gu Zai then she needed to act obedient to convince Sally to trust that she wouldn’t run away.

‘In two days, you’ll be fit to work,’ Sally said.

After Sally left, Zhen Zhen inspected her injuries. She was lucky she survived the fall with minor scratches. She wondered if Yue Gu Zai was looking for her.

Zhen Zhen slowly got out of bed, and she searched the room for a phone or a computer. There was no device for her to contact Yue Gu Zai. She walked to the door, and carefully opened the door. Two guards were standing outside the door.

‘I need to go to the toilet,’ Zhen Zhen lied.

‘There’s a toilet inside the room,’ one of the guards said.

Zhen Zhen closed the door. She couldn’t contact Yue Gu Zai and she couldn’t go outside to find help. She laid on the bed and slept because she needed strength to escape.

For two days, Sally fed Zhen Zhen and let Zhen Zhen recover.

On the third day since Zhen Zhen met Sally, Sally gave her a dress that looked like a student’s uniform.

‘Put the dress on,’ Sally said. ‘You don’t suit wearing skimpy outfits like me. Our guests have a range of tastes. Some days they like meaty dishes, and on other days they like vegetarian dishes. I’ll let you serve the guests wine first to pique their taste buds, and I’ll fetch a good price for you.’

Zhen Zhen was relieved. She had time to find a way to contact Yue Gu Zai to save her.

‘Sally the guests are here,’ a brothel worker said.

‘Get dressed and line up outside to greet the guests,’ Sally said. ‘If you get chosen, you’ll serve the guests wine. Don’t do anything to offend them or anything to embarrass me.’

‘Yes Sally,’ Zhen Zhen said.

Zhen Zhen changed into the dress. Then she walked outside and stood in a corner. Five women were chosen to serve the guests. Unfortunately, she was one of the five women chosen.

Zhen Zhen followed the women into the private and dimly lit room, and the door was firmly shut after all the guests entered the room. Three women sat between the six men on the sofa, and one woman knelt on the floor and served wine to the men. Zhen Zhen quickly knelt on the floor and served wine to the men too so she wouldn’t draw attention to herself.

One fat man was drinking wine and talking to the youngest man. Although the youngest man had a woman under his arm, he looked disinterested.

‘Mr Yan, I need to make a living,’ Mr Huang said. ‘My goods have been sitting in a shipping container for two months.’

‘What’s the rush?’ Yan Fen asked.

‘Mr Yan, my brothers and I need money to eat,’ Mr Huang said. ‘You can use your connection to Ni Sheng to convince the Hong group to release my goods.’

Zhen Zhen heard the fat man mentioned Ni Sheng, and she accidently spilt wine on the fat man’s hand.

‘You clumsy bitch!’ Mr Huang said.

‘I’m sorry,’ Zhen Zhen said.

‘Saying sorry isn’t enough,’ Mr Huang said. He lifted Zhen Zhen’s chin to see her better under the dim light. ‘You have a good body.’

Zhen Zhen wanted to push the fat man’s hand away from her chin. But she smiled at him to save her life.

‘I’m a new worker,’ Zhen Zhen said.

The other five women thought Zhen Zhen was an unlucky woman to offend Mr Huang on her first day working at the brothel. Even under Sally’s protection, Mr Huang wouldn’t be lenient on Zhen Zhen.

***

End of Chapter Thirty-Seven