False evidence

Chapter 1 A Meal of Kindness

"Take this to the toilet."

Looking at the plastic cup handed to me, I was confused. This was a police station, not a hospital, why did they need a urine test?
When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head, especially when faced with a police officer's order; I had no choice but to obey.

After submitting my urine sample, I squatted in the corner and saw a police officer sitting in a chair, a cigarette between his fingers, reading documents. I shamelessly asked him, "Officer, could I have one too?"

The other person glanced at me, shook a cigarette out of the pack, and was about to toss it to me when the door opened, a police auxiliary officer walked in, pointed at me, and said to the policeman:
"The test results are in, positive."

When I realized what was happening, my head suddenly felt like it was going to explode.

That's when I realized that the urine test was to check for the use of illegal drugs.

I couldn't smoke anymore. The policeman threw the cigarette pack on the table and told me to confess.

I quickly said yes, I know about the policy of leniency for those who confess.

Realizing the situation was more serious than I had imagined, my mind suddenly cleared. Remembering something that had happened before, I quickly recounted it.

I said politely, "My name is Sanqi..."

I had barely said one sentence when the policeman slammed his hand on the table and told me to behave.

I explained helplessly that my real name is Sanqi, that's the name on my ID card, but I don't have my ID card with me right now. If you don't believe me, you can check the system, or you can just call my school.

The police waved his hand, letting me continue.

So I began to recount all the details I could think of.

My name is indeed Sanqi, but I don't have a surname because I was picked up by a country herbalist.

The man who sold wild herbs was a strange and irritable old man. He did adopt me, but he claimed that he was destined to have no descendants and that he was not taking any of anyone's good fortune, so he wouldn't let me take his surname.

When they registered my household registration, the police officer asked what my name was, and he gave me a name on the spot: Sanqi.

Although he was extremely unwilling, I started calling him "Grandpa" when I was learning to speak.

My grandfather raised me by treating patients and prescribing medicine, and I didn't let him down; I managed to get into university.

My grandfather was short of money, so he sold an old he shou wu (Polygonum multiflorum) that he had treasured for decades to pay for my schooling.

After that, I could only work part-time and study in this city. In order to save money, I haven't been back for two years.

Tonight, as usual, I'm working as a waiter at a Sichuan restaurant.

As closing time approached, only two tables remained in the restaurant.

When I was getting beer for two old men at one table, I inadvertently saw two men at another table put a pink pill in a woman's drink while she was in the restroom.

I haven't experienced anything like this myself, but I've seen it online, so I know those two weren't up to any good.

The woman looked quite innocent, like she was naive. I couldn't resist and when she came back, I told her that I saw some cigarette ash in her cup and wanted to get her a new one.

The two men immediately got angry and said I was looking for trouble.

The restaurant owner was alarmed and came forward to apologize, but the two men wouldn't let it go no matter what he said.

I got angry too, so I just said directly that the two of them drugged that woman.

But to my utter surprise, the woman pointed at me and, with a stern face, berated me for talking nonsense.

The boss wanted to settle things peacefully and offered to give them a free meal, but the other party refused.

One of the men, who was wearing an earring, picked up the woman's cup and said that she would still pay for the meal, but she had to drink the beverage in her cup, or this wouldn't be over...

The policeman lit a cigarette, squinted, and asked me, "Did you give it to me to drink?"

I said, "My boss treats me well and never delays my wages, so I can't make things difficult for him. But then I went to the toilet and made myself vomit."

"and then?"

"Comrade, and then... just like I told you before. After work, I felt a little dizzy and incredibly thirsty, so I saw a food stall on the roadside, ordered a plate of fried noodles, and two bottles of beer..."

I was a little dizzy at the time, but I remember it very clearly. I had only drunk half a bottle of beer, and the fried noodles had just been served when two young men reeking of alcohol started a fight for no reason.

I was already holding back my anger, and I couldn't hold back any longer, so I started fighting with them.

I learned some martial arts from my grandfather when I was young, and although my opponents were all tall and strong, they were no match for me.

As a result, I knocked both drunks out, and I had the police bring them in.

The policeman scratched his buzz cut. "What do those pills look like?"

I said, "It's pink, it dissolves in the cup. You can't taste anything."

The policeman nodded, whispered a few words to the person next to him, and then took me directly to the detention room.

I lay on the cold, hard bed, staring at the ceiling, filled with deep regret.

Just work, why meddle in other people's business?
Now that's it, there's no proof, and the cup was already washed by the restaurant's cleaning lady. Do you think the police will believe what I'm saying?

Just as I was flipping the pancake over and over, the door slammed open, and the crew-cut guy who had brought me in earlier brought in another person.

The person brought in was a rambling old man with a bulbous nose and tattered clothes.

As soon as I saw the old man, I jumped out of bed. "What, it's you?"

The police officer was somewhat surprised: "You know each other?" He then explained that the old man had been drinking too much and had been arrested for groping a woman's buttocks.

I guess the police were tired in the middle of the night, so they didn't say much and just locked the old man and me in a room.

Seeing this old man initially gave me a glimmer of hope, but when he came in, the smell of alcohol emanating from him, and his small, unfocused eyes, all hope vanished. I didn't really know this old man; coincidentally, we had only met once that afternoon.

Just past lunchtime, the old man sauntered into the restaurant and asked shabbily how much a bowl of white rice cost.

He was dressed like a beggar, and a waiter with a bad temper kicked him out on the spot.

I couldn't stand it, so I took the staff meal from the kitchen, put the food into a disposable lunchbox, and took it out for him.

I never expected him to be grateful to me. I just heard my grandfather say that there are many bad people in the world, but even more poor people. If we encounter a beggar, we should give him some money if we have enough. If we encounter someone asking for money, we should give him food. If the other party doesn't want it, we should chase him away with a big stick.

The old man stared at me with his two small, round eyes for a full minute before taking the lunchbox from me, and then said:

"Young man, you have a kind heart. However, your luck isn't so good."

I was a little curious, and since I had nothing better to do, I asked him what he meant.

The old man squatted down on a flower bed, wolfing down his lunchbox while occasionally pointing at me with disposable chopsticks. He said he was a fortune teller and could tell at a glance that I was not only unlucky but also about to suffer a terrible misfortune.

I lost interest as soon as I heard that.

My grandfather sold wild herbs. In the past, when I had no one to take care of me, I followed him from village to village, and I saw all sorts of people.

Speaking of fortune tellers, if you can predict things accurately, why don't you predict your own fortune? You're living like a beggar, yet you still try to fool others.

Seeing that I was about to leave, the old man suddenly raised his voice behind me and said:

"Listen to advice, and you'll eat your fill! Take my advice: go home now and don't go to work tonight, or you'll end up in jail!"

He spoke so loudly that several people passing by turned to look at me.

I was getting a little annoyed, so I turned around and said, "Dude, aren't you being a bit unfair? Are you cursing me? Do you think I'll obediently hand over my money just because you said that?"

Seeing that he had finished his meal in such a short time, he was wiping his mouth with his sleeve without even lifting his hair.

I was at a loss for words. Me too, he's so old and still so poor, his alarmist talk is just a trick, he's only after a few dollars, why should I get worked up over an old man?
I get easily agitated, but I also have a quick change of heart.

He immediately pulled out a five-yuan note from his pocket and stuffed it into his hand: "Hey buddy, here's the money. I don't expect you to say anything good about me, just don't curse me."

The old man looked up at the money in the sky, carefully put it away, and sighed.

"Sigh, if it were just a meal, I'd only exchange those two sentences for it. But with these five dollars, I might be able to help you."

I was already impatient, so I turned around and went back into the shop.

I just thought he was an old hoodlum or maybe half-mad, and then I forgot about it.

Seeing him again in the detention cell brought back memories of what happened during the day.

The old man said I would be imprisoned, and he was absolutely right. Could he really be the legendary 'reclusive master'?
Seeing him lying there sprawled out, eyes closed and emitting foul odors, I couldn't help but smile wryly.

Sanqi, you're a college student, what are you thinking about that makes you believe in fortune telling?

Haha, 'jail' is self-inflicted. To pin your hopes on an old swindler, then who the hell is the madman?

He's also a... old scoundrel who got locked up for groping women's butts while drunk...

Alright, even if the sky falls, I'll use it as a blanket. Nothing matters except death, so there's no point in thinking about it. I should just go to sleep.

Just as I was about to force myself to sleep, the old man suddenly turned over, closed his eyes, and mumbled:

"Now you should know why I told you to go home early..."

I was completely out of energy at that point, so I rolled over and lay down, mumbling indistinctly:

"I know, I know, you're a living god. Next time, make sure you calculate it correctly before you touch a woman's butt, so you don't get caught in the act."

"Hey kid, you might be a bit slow on the uptake, but you've got a sharp tongue!"

The old man, still with his eyes closed, yawned widely. "Oh well, I won't hold it against you. Just listen to what I'm about to say. Don't worry, you'll be able to leave as soon as it's light tomorrow."

However, to be honest, this isn't a good thing. Your ability to leave this time is my way of repaying your kindness in providing a meal; but you're going to be unlucky and have to come back in, and you definitely won't be able to continue your studies.”

I could ignore anything else he said, but his last sentence really hit a nerve.

I was raised by my grandfather who sold wild medicines. In the early years, quack doctors like my grandfather were quite successful in the countryside. With the development of the internet and society, rural people have broadened their horizons and begun to believe in science.

As my grandfather would say: Times have changed, and people are no longer so easily fooled.

No one could understand the bitterness in the old man's words.

The truth is, I'm old now. I can't even fool people anymore, let alone do farm work.

I'm hoping to graduate as soon as possible, find a job in the city, and bring my parents to live with me.

If I couldn't go to school, it would be a fatal blow to me.

I sat up abruptly and stared at the old man with the bulbous nose.

As if sensing something, he opened his small eyes, glanced at me with a smile, and said before I could speak:
"Young man, don't get so hot-tempered. Here's what I'll do: I'll show you a way out. Listen to me, and whether you do as I say is up to you."

So, one day, when you only have 352.6 yuan left, you can go to Elephant Trunk Alley in the west of the city. Walk to the end of the alley, and you'll see a fat, ugly woman cursing in the street.

You don't need to say anything, just give her all the money you have. Then, spend the night in the room she's pointing at and cursing in; perhaps your bad luck will be driven away.

However, there's always a chance of something going wrong. It's all about how you choose to act. Similarly, if that fat woman had taken all the money, she might not have died, but she'd at least go insane. But if she had left you something, even just a coin, her future might have been very different…”

(End of this chapter)