"Du Yuning, is that Mrs. Yuan?"
Yue Dingtang raised his head, with just the right amount of surprise and curiosity on his face.
Boss Li sighed: "Exactly, when Mrs. Yuan is free, she will come to have afternoon tea. It's a big New Year's Eve... Hey! The guy just read the newspaper to me, but I didn't expect that the fate of the couple would be forever separated. !"
Yue Dingtang: "How much do you communicate with Mrs. Yuan?"
Boss Li: "Thanks Mrs. Yuan for not giving up. We chatted a few times, but we didn't have a deep friendship."
Yue Dingtang: "We are currently conducting a social survey, which includes the content of public security in Shanghai. We happened to encounter the case of Mrs. Yuan. Do you think it would be convenient to chat with you?"
Boss Li: "It's convenient, my son and daughter-in-law are all in Nanyang, and I have no relatives or reasons in China. I'm going to have a reunion dinner with the guys. Just ask."
Yue Dingtang glanced at Ling Shu and handed over the book in his hand.
"Xiao Yang, come and help with the record."
As if to put him in the tone of his assistant.
Ling Shu: …
He wiped his mouth and took out a pen.
"Okay! But Lao Yue, you have to hurry up. Your daughter-in-law is still waiting at home. If you don't go back on New Year's Eve, your knees will be swollen when you wake up tomorrow."
Yue Dingtang: …
He reluctantly held back the twisted corners of his mouth and looked at Boss Li seriously.
"When was the last time you and Mrs. Yuan talked?"
"The day before yesterday."
Isn't that the last time Du Yuning and Ling Shu met
Ling Yue looked at each other.
"What did Mrs. Yuan chat with you at that time, and how did her expression and attitude differ from usual?"
Boss Li thought for a while, "It doesn't seem to be."
Yue Dingtang: "I'm not unhappy, or sad and resentful, and I've never complained to you?"
Boss Li shook his head: "I see that Mrs. Yuan's mood was still very good that day. She told me that every time she came back here, her favorite order was strawberry cake, and she only wanted to eat it when she was in a good mood. I ordered one and packed one back."
Ling Shu asked coldly, "What did she talk to you about?"
The lights were dim just now, and Boss Li was talking to Yue Dingtang, only to notice Ling Shu when he heard the sound.
"You, you are good-natured, where have I seen you?"
Seeing the other party racking his brains, Ling Shu kindly reminded him.
"The day before yesterday, right here, Mrs. Yuan and I had coffee."
"Yes, yes!" Boss Li clapped his hands, "I remembered, it's you!"
Ling Shu nodded: "It's me, but I don't remember Mrs. Yuan talking to you."
Boss Li: "When you were still in the future, I saw Mrs. Yuan sitting there alone, so I walked over to say hello to her. She seemed to be in a good mood. She also said that she was going to attend the banquet hosted by the lady of the British Consulate tomorrow. Buy some coffee beans from me, use them as gifts, let me choose them, and send them to the house."
Ling Shu: "Is there nothing else?"
Boss Li: "No, that's all."
Ling Shu: "On weekdays, when Mrs. Yuan comes over, do you have any interaction with anyone other than me?"
Boss Li hesitated: "It seems that there is another one."
Ling Shu: "What does it look like?"
Boss Li: "Sven's."
Ling Shu: "Wear glasses?"
Boss Li thought for a while: "It should be worn."
Ling Shu: "Red dress?"
Boss Li embarrassed and said with a smile: "I don't remember that much. Sometimes when I'm not in the store, the guys take care of the business, and it's not every time I can meet Mrs. Yuan. If you want to call them over, you can ask again? "
Ling Shu: "Okay, then it's up to you to call out the guys who are always there during the day. If you delay them a little, we'll just ask a few questions."
Boss Li agreed, but he was a little confused.
"Two gentlemen, with all due respect, aren't you school teachers, why do you seem to be asking about a case?"
Yue Ding Tang Wenwen said: "Social investigations involve various aspects, and there is no shortage of case descriptions. It is inevitable to ask more carefully. It happened that we had met Mrs. Yuan several times. We were very sorry to hear the bad news, so we stopped by and asked. Could be of some help."
"That's the case, then please wait a moment." Boss Li turned around to call someone without suspecting him.
The tall and thin guy was quickly called over.
He was not on duty, he was wearing a gown, his face was honest, and he answered any questions.
"When Mrs. Yuan came over, there was indeed a man who often appeared. The two of them sat there for most of the day, and then left one after the other. There were three times when I was on duty during the day."
Ling Shu and Du Yuning had met here almost three times, and when they heard that, they said, "You're not talking about me, are you?"
The guy looked at him carefully for a moment, shook his head, and affirmed: "It's not you! That gentleman often wears a red dress and glasses."
Yue Dingtang: "What do they talk about, do you know?"
The guy shook his head first, and then said, "Once I brought tea over there, I heard two sentences, as if they were discussing writing poetry. I'm a rude person, and I don't know any poetry, and I didn't understand it."
Yue Dingtang: "Who is his last name, do you still have an impression?"
Buddy: "He said his surname was Hong, and he didn't mention anything else, but from the looks of it, he should be similar to the two of you. He's a cultural person, right?"
What he said was almost the same as the information provided by the owner of the tea shop just now.
Excluding the possibility of the two lying temporarily, it is basically the same person.
A new character comes to the surface.
This is in line with their previous speculation.
Then, this man is probably also the one who helped Du Yunning to draft the property list.
Even, the two may have a more intimate relationship.
"Is he a regular at the café?"
Buddy: "I have been in this cafe for three years. From the previous owner to the current Boss Li, thanks to Boss Li's perseverance, he kept me here to do things, but I rarely saw this Mr. Hong before. "
Yue Dingtang: "Then where does he live and where does he work?"
The guy naturally shook his head.
It's just a guest who met by chance. Unless someone like Du Yuning is a celebrity, how can other people know each other
Yue Dingtang frowned, a little disappointed.
This is certainly a clue worth digging, but if the surnamed Hong is really related to Du Yuning's death, as soon as the news comes out, he will definitely never show up nearby again. What's more, he will just buy a ticket to go out of town and disappear from now on. In the vast sea of people, then they are completely useless.
"Ah, that's right!"
The man suddenly had a flash of inspiration, "It was snowing outside last time, and this Mr. Hong is leaving. I called a rickshaw for him, and I heard him give the driver an address, it seems, yes- No. 36 Hengtong Road!"
Hengtong Road.
Yue Dingtang looked at Ling Shu subconsciously.
The latter just happened to look over.
That's also where Xiao Ji Noodle House is located.
Just two days ago, before and after Du Yuning's accident, the noodle restaurant owner Lao Xiao was also implicated because of the fire next door, and was burned alive in the noodle restaurant.
Coincidence, or intentional
How did the surnamed Hong, Du Yunning, and Lao Xiao get connected
Boss Li had been standing beside him with his hands tied, without interrupting them, and only then did he speak out when he saw that they were almost asking.
"Two gentlemen, it's getting late. If it's later, I'm afraid that there will be no rickshaws on the street."
Just now there were some sapphire blue skies outside, and it was completely dark. You can imagine how warm it is here and how cold it is outside.
Yue Ding Tang glanced at his watch, they really should leave.
"Thank you boss, I've bothered you for a long time today, I'm sorry, I'll come to apologize later in the year."
Another table of foreign guests did not know when they were full and left, leaving their table in the huge cafe.
Boss Li smiled and said: "It's okay, my little old man is here for the New Year anyway. It's a serious business not to delay you going home and reuniting with your family. The shop will be closed for a while during the New Year. If the two gentlemen like it here, you might as well wait for the next year. Come again."
Saying goodbye to the boss, the two came out of the cafe and walked towards the street.
The driver is still waiting there.
"Eldest sister must be in a hurry to wait for you to go back for the reunion dinner now. You can go back first and talk about it in two days." Yue Dingtang said.
The eldest sister shouted so affectionately, Ling Shu swallowed the spit in her mouth.
"If you don't strike while the iron is hot now, you don't know what will happen in two days. You can't lose your life for the New Year. Let's go and go directly to Hengtong Road."
After he said that, he got into the carriage first.
…
In the area of Hengtong Road, new and old houses are lined up. In the night, the old and new colors are not so clear, but the lights of thousands of houses are scattered in the scattered, and the smell of steamed fish is mixed with the steamed rice cakes. New Year's Eve.
The taste of fish and pork is light, almost non-existent. After all, for ordinary people, a bowl of tenderloin boiled rice cake or a braised fish can appear on the table these days, which can already be regarded as a rich New Year's festival. They were able to eat lobster and steak just now, and it was even more extravagant to imagine.
Most of them are residential areas, and sometimes there are some shops, all of which are old and time-honored. The owner has run it for several generations, relying on word of mouth from repeat customers.
Nowadays, the mountains and rivers are not complete, there are still wars in some places, Shanghai is very tight and loose, and ordinary people may see the smoke of gunpowder in the newspapers every day, but after all, it is generally calm, and those who go to work temporarily have a job, and those who go to school also have books for the time being. Read, aside from the enthusiastic young people and intellectuals who are concerned about the country and the people, most of the little people still live their little days according to their usual rhythm day after day.
However, there are two exceptions in this hustle and bustle of households closing their doors for the New Year.
That is the two houses that were destroyed by the fire before.
One of them was the Xiaoji noodle shop that Ling Shu often visited.
"In this family that caught fire, the male owner used to work as a coolie at the wharf. He injured his leg when he was carrying goods. Later, he could only pick up cotton at home. The hostess did a good job of embroidery, and occasionally picked up outside. The fabrics were embroidered back, so they accumulated a lot of cotton wool and fabrics at home, which are very easy to catch fire.”
"According to subsequent investigations, it was speculated that they were probably children playing with fire at home, and adults were sleeping, and they didn't notice it in time, which led to the rapid expansion of the fire, which eventually burned to death inside, and also implicated Xiao Ji next door."
When the two walked towards No. 36 Hengtong Road, Yue Dingtang said.
"something wrong."
Ling Shu stopped.
"Not to mention that in order to save money, poor people generally do not light lights at night, and it is difficult to buy matches, candles or even oil lamps. Even if their children find a match in the middle of the night, they are naughty and make a fire. Neither the couple nor the old man have lost their five senses. Even if the couple couldn't escape, why didn't even Boss Xiao escape?"
The author has something to say:
A small theater that has nothing to do with the text—
Yue Dingtang: Where did my daughter-in-law come from
Ling Shu: When did I become your assistant
Yue Dingtang: Sooner or later you have to call me boss.
Ling Shu: Sooner or later you have to call my husband.
Yue Dingtang: …
Ling Shu reacted, angry, turned his head and shouted: Director, the script lines are wrong!