The investigation at the New Era Department Store did not reveal any useful clues. The staff who were familiar with Deng Hongmei, accompanied by Lu Ming, a department store manager, belittled Deng Hongmei to the point of being worthless.
Lu Ming privately talked with two employees who had the closest contact with Deng Hongmei. Although the two people's tone had changed and they both described Deng Hongmei as "beautiful", "simple", "quiet", etc., they did not find anything valuable.
From what they said, we learned that Deng Hongmei was newly married and was very much in love with her husband.
Finally, Lu Ming decided to go to where Deng Hongmei lived for an in-depth investigation.
…
In the black Punk sedan, Lu Ming and Pamela sat in the back seat.
The driver in front was a young man dressed in a hip-hop style, with loose grey baggy pants and a jacket with many pockets. He looked like a decadent young man born after World War II in his previous life.
There has not been a major war in this world for thousands of years, but the decadent trend has prevailed even earlier.
He is Liu Kexing, the second son of Liu Laocai. He is a man of few words and very taciturn, which is completely different from his attire.
Lu Ming originally wanted to come with Pamela by themselves, but Liu Laocai insisted that his second son send them both.
Sitting on the passenger seat was a pretty girl in a floral dress. She was Deng Hongmei’s good friend from the department store, her name was Yang Yanran.
Soon the car drove from the wide avenue into the narrow alley.
The black sedan turned many turns in the maze-like slum area and finally stopped at an intersection in the alley, in front of a row of small shops.
Liu Kexing pointed to an alley in the east and said, "It should be here. This should be Gaoping Alley."
Deng Hongmei lives at No. 4 Gaoping Lane, which is one of the large courtyards in Gaoping Lane.
"Let's go shopping first!" Lu Ming was about to get out of the car with Pan Mila.
The small shops in the alleys are all local businesses and are well-informed.
"Hey, my eldest brother, why is he here?" Liu Kexing suddenly said in surprise. He pointed to a tea restaurant in the row of small shops and said, "The person sitting opposite him, is that Deng Hongmei?"
Lu Ming looked in the direction of Liu Kexing's finger. It was a very simple tea restaurant with dirty glass, but he could see that there was a man and a woman sitting at the table by the window. However, Lu Ming did not know Liu Kexing's elder brother Liu Keyue, and he had only seen a photo of Deng Hongmei. Looking from the side, he could not tell whether the woman in the red dress looked very similar to Deng Hongmei in the photo.
Yang Yanran looked at the tea restaurant and wanted to say something, but swallowed it back.
"It's Deng Hongmei." Pamela said.
"Oh?" Lu Ming looked at the beautiful young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes in surprise.
"There is a small black mole on Deng Hongmei's nose. Moreover, her nose height, eye shape, and the distance from the corners of her eyes to her temples are all the same as in the photo."
Lu Ming rubbed his nose. He didn’t expect Pamela had this ability.
Different from face blindness, she probably has face sensitivity. Of course, it may be because she pursues perfection on her face too much, demands perfection in her makeup, and observes others from these angles first, which is a talent slowly formed after birth.
Men generally cannot understand this kind of talent.
After thinking for a while, Lu Ming said, "Then, Xiao Yang, get out of the car and let's go to Deng Hongmei's house first." He said to Pamela, "You're too conspicuous, so don't go with me. Wait in the car for a while."
Yang Yanran said "oh", opened the car door and got out.
…
Yang Yanran had been to Deng Hongmei's house many times and was very familiar with the other families in the compound.
The large courtyard, similar to a siheyuan, is home to several tenants. The yard is extremely noisy, with children running and making noises, parents shouting and scolding, and a couple swearing at each other to the death, all intertwined together, giving it a very "breath of life".
Yang Yanran also greeted a woman who was rinsing her mouth with tooth powder by the water well in the courtyard. The woman had white foam in her mouth and said in a sly voice, "Yanran, Xiao Deng and his wife don't seem to be at home. You can go in and wait!"
"Okay, thank you Aunt Wang." Yang Yanran agreed and led Lu Ming into the east wing.
Basically, if you live in a slum for a long time and get familiar with your neighbors, you won't have the habit of locking the door. Not to mention, Deng Hongmei is at the tea restaurant at the entrance of the alley, so she should be planning to come back soon.
This is a simple rental house with two rooms. The outer room is the kitchen with a stove and a small table, and it is also the dining room. The inner room is the bedroom.
The bed was neatly made with floral sheets, and there was a black bedside table and neatly folded bedding at the head of the bed.
"Lawyer Lu, am I being unfair to Hongmei..."
Yang Yanran looked at Lu Mingdong flipping through the documents with a complicated expression. She was very reluctant to bring her lawyer here, but if she didn't want to lose her job, she had to listen to the boss.
Lu Ming said nothing, but reached out and opened the drawers on the bedside table one by one.
Since you have chosen to betray your friend, there is no point in saying these regretful words now.
I would not say such hypocritical words as if Deng Hongmei is framing Mr. Liu, then we are the righteous ones.
As a defense lawyer, since I have agreed to take this case, even if Liu Laocai is actually the perpetrator, from now on, I must protect the client's interests.
If the abuser is safe and sound, it is the prosecution's responsibility and the prosecution failed to collect enough evidence to convince the judge and jury.
It was the prosecution that failed to do its job.
The defense does its utmost to protect its client, which in fact requires the prosecution to investigate the case more carefully and seriously, so as to reduce wrongful convictions.
This is the meaning of the existence of both the prosecution and the defense.
Um
There was a passbook lying under the newspaper in the drawer. Lu Ming took it out, looked at it, and put it back.
There are also several identical medicine bottles, and the empty medicine bottles are preserved very carefully and arranged neatly.
"Let's go! Let's go out and talk to the tenants here!" Lu Ming walked out.
Yang Yanran immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The longer she stayed here, the more guilty she felt.
Lu Ming chatted with the tenants of this slum, and then went to several nearby slums to chat with the old men and women.
Deng Hongmei and her husband did not turn back until they got out of the alley and back into the car.
In the black car, Liu Kexing had a gloomy face. When Pan Mi La saw Lu Ming getting in the car, she leaned over slightly and whispered, "Liu Keyue and Deng Hongmei have not left yet. Moreover, they are very intimate. Liu Keyue even held Deng Hongmei's hand..."
"Did you find anything, Lu Bian?" Liu Kexing turned and asked Lu Ming.
Yang Yanran immediately said flatteringly, "I heard from Uncle Wang from the same courtyard that Sister Deng's husband changed jobs recently. He used to be a rickshaw driver, but now he works as a clerk in a small company."
Liu Kexing snorted coldly, "It seems that you are not short of money, and someone has arranged a job for you!" As he said this, he glanced at the tea restaurant with hatred.
Pulling a rickshaw is a physical job and is relatively flexible. If you are diligent, you can earn a lot. If you work hard, you can earn about 100 to 180 yuan a month. However, it is tiring and dirty, and the job is not decent and people look down on you.
Employees in small companies earn less. In Beiguan, a monthly salary of 40 to 50 yuan is the norm. Those with low incomes may only earn 30 to 40 yuan a month.
But clerical work is more respectable and leisurely, and some jobs even require letters of introduction from celebrities.
Therefore, the fact that Deng Hongmei's husband changed from a laborer to an employee was actually a sign that the family was no longer short of money.
Yang Yanran asked in surprise: "Second Young Master, do you know this?"
Lu Ming looked at Liu Kexing, thoughtfully.
"Lu Bian, where else do we need to go?" Liu Kexing asked.
"Please take me back to the law firm." Lu Ming smiled.
On the way back, Lu Ming went to a pharmacy to buy two cold medicines, chatted for a while, and then went to a bookstore to buy a few books.