Chapter Two: The Rules of Three Hundred Thousand

Zhou Jibai did not sleep. His father's old insulated box lay beneath the bed, its red shell faded brown and its zipper half broken. Zhou Chengyue had never been a delivery rider, but he had kept the box in his taxi and claimed he delivered late dinners for a former employer. After his death, creditors took the television and refrigerator. Nobody wanted the ruined box. Jibai cut open its lining and found a yellowed parking token. The front read TIDELISTENING HOUSE—B2—17. Four penciled words marked the back: When congee cools, the door opens. At ten that morning, a lawyer delivered a twelve-page employment agreement. The client was named “Yan Ci.” Jibai could withdraw before any order without returning his advance, but confidentiality was absolute.