Yue Dingtang could not answer this question.
Because he has the same question.
But at the time of the forensic autopsy, the family of three, together with the boss Xiao of the Xiaoji Noodle Shop next door, were all burned to death.
As for whether they encountered a change before they died, it is unknown.
Unless Boss Xiao is dead and gives them a dream, it will definitely be a mystery for a while.
While speaking, they had arrived at No. 36 Hengtong Road.
This is a residence, a typical Shanghai residential house.
In a private house like this, generally not one family lives in, but several families live together. It is often possible that the host family lives in one of them, and then rents out the rest of the room. Most of the tenants are outsiders.
At this time, Shanghai has almost gathered the most luxurious pleasures in China. The economy is more developed than other cities in the south, and the folk customs are more open than those in the north. When a decade or two ago, the north was still debating whether women could wear short-sleeved cheongsam. , Shanghai's fashionable women have already appeared in the streets one by one gracefully.
Therefore, there are many foreigners who come to Shanghai. Those who seek education, money, and rights, even if they can’t become a high-ranking person, they still want to give it a try. So these houses don’t have to worry about no one to rent. Naturally, the rent will not be cheap.
On New Year's Eve, every family is having a reunion dinner, but there are also naughty children who come out to set off firecrackers.
The sound of firecrackers came one after another, accompanied by the shouting of children, and occasionally sparkling fireworks, but it seemed that Ling and Yue were incompatible.
Yue Dingtang was originally worried about how to find an opportunity to go in and have a look, but when he came to the house, he found that the children in their family had also slipped out to play, the door was half open, and the foot crossed the threshold.
"Which one are you looking for?"
A middle-aged woman greeted him.
"Hello, sister-in-law, I wish you an early year first. Is there a gentleman surnamed Hong here?" Yue Ding and Tang Binbin were polite.
"What are you looking for with the surname Hong?" The woman's face was ugly, but she didn't have any seizures just by looking at their clothes.
This sentence has two meanings.
One, they came right, the man surnamed Hong who was in contact with Du Yuning really lived here.
Second, the behavior of the surnamed Hong here made this woman dislike him.
"We are his friends. It's almost New Year's Eve, so I came to see him specially. You can take these snacks and give them to the children."
Yue Dingtang took the dim sum box from Ling Shu's hand, and stuffed it into the other's hand.
Ling Shu: …
This is what he packed in the cafe, ready to take back for supper!
The woman looked at the delicate snack box, and it was difficult to show her face, and she forced a smile.
"I didn't expect that the surnamed Hong... Mr. Hong still has friends. He hasn't come back for two or three days. I'm afraid you are looking in the wrong place."
Yue Dingtang: "Then do you know where he went?"
The woman sneered: "It's not in the casino, it's in the dance hall, where else can I be?"
Yue Ding Tang was polite and polite: "Then do you know where to find him?"
The woman sighed: "I don't know either. He hasn't paid the rent for this month, and I want to find him too. Well, you go up and have a seat first, maybe he will come back soon."
The landlord went back to the house to get the key, and took Yue Dingtang and Ling Shu upstairs.
Wooden stairs from some eras creaked, and light filtered in from the outside, reflecting the ragged edge of the window.
"Speaking of which, how did you know someone like him?" the landlord asked curiously, "Why doesn't the surnamed Hong seem to be able to make friends with people like you."
Ling Shu: "We met on the train to Shanghai. Mr. Hong was very enthusiastic and helped us with our suitcases. We chatted a few more times. Later, through a letter, he told us that he lived here. "
The woman whispered: "He will help you carry your suitcases, I'm afraid it's the weasel who greets the chicken for the New Year. I'm worried and kind, don't have any plans!"
Ling Shu smiled and said: "After all, everyone is a foreigner, and we don't usually communicate with each other. This is not because the Chinese New Year is about to come, let's come and see the fellow, if I had known that he lives in such a lively place, and there is another big sister, you are so enthusiastic and helpful. The landlord in charge, and such a lovely child, I moved here long ago!"
The woman was complimented by him with a smile on her face.
"His lease is about to expire. If you want to move in, I'll keep the house for you."
Ling Shu: "Okay, I'll discuss it with my daughter-in-law when I go back. She always thinks that the place we live in is not good, and she also says that I teach and educate people, and I have to live in a place where there is a good reputation for books. I think you are very good here. Hey, no one can stand up to a woman who is messing around, if she has a big sister and you are half-reasonable, I won't have to have such a headache."
Yue Dingtang: …
He thought that his ability to adapt to the situation was quite good, but he didn't expect that a mountain was still a mountain high, and there was a master who opened his eyes and talked nonsense, pinched a daughter-in-law out of thin air, and turned into a teacher.
After a few words, Ling Shu even figured out what his family name was and what his husband's family did.
The woman was so complimented by him that she could hardly find Bei, and when she heard that they were teachers, she became more enthusiastic.
"Oh, look at what you said, go back and tell your daughter-in-law well, bring her over to have a look, eldest sister will like it when she keeps her, but you married a daughter-in-law at such a young age?"
"Yes, it's the order of the parents at home. We got married early, but I didn't hear that Mr. Hong is married, and he lives alone?" Ling Shu returned the topic without a trace.
"I really haven't seen him bring a woman back. Oh, don't mention it. He told us before that he was an editor in a newspaper office. I thought that his monthly income would be enough to pay the rent. He lived here for almost half a year. In addition to paying the rent on time for three months, he started to default until the deposit was paid off, and he owed a month, and he didn't see him take out half a cent!"
The woman's lingering complaints echoed in the stairwell.
"The rent here is not expensive. He came back two days ago with a look of excitement. He even brought me a roast chicken for the first time in history and changed a whole outfit for himself. I thought he was about to make a fortune. He refuses to pay rent for clothes, it’s really outrageous, I’ve never seen an old man who can be more stubborn than him! As far as his virtues are, what kind of cultural person is he, I think it’s almost like a street gangster!”
"Here, it's here!"
The woman led them to the door of the room at the end of the second floor, took out the key and opened the door.
"Since you know him, let's go in and sit, and if he comes back later, I'll tell you."
"It's not good, after all, I didn't get the master's consent." Ling Shu said politely.
The landlord didn't take it seriously: "That's fine, anyway, he doesn't have anything of value here, you sit down for a while, and I'll make two bowls of tea for the two of you."
Since she said that, the two naturally stopped being polite, and after the landlord left, they began to look around the room.
Ling Shu is a policeman. He knows how to read things and then return to the original position, so that the owner does not notice.
Yue Dingtang strolled around the room, up and down, left and right, and his eyes were not idle.
The layout of the room is very simple, almost rudimentary.
There is paper and pen on the desk, and a library card from Wusong University is pressed under it.
The library card is very new, and the number of times it has been used is recorded on the back, and only three strokes are written on the word "positive".
At the same time, Ling Shu saw the name on the library card.
Hong Xiaoguang.
There are three books next to it.
One is a collection of poetry collected after the European Renaissance.
One is Tagore's "Fruit Picking".
Another is Shakespeare's work, the most well-known "Romeo and Juliet".
About half of the notebooks are used, and they are basically copied from verses, mostly Shakespeare.
"What did you find?" Yue Dingtang came over.
"The handwriting on the front is more serious, and the handwriting on the back is more scribbled and graffiti."
Ling Shu turned to the following pages, and Yue Dingtang found that the graffiti was just repeating the words in the verse.
"A smart person has become an idiot, and he is the most easily hooked fish; because he relies on his talents and knowledge, but he can't see his arrogance." Yue Ding Tang read it again. "Shakespeare's famous quote."
Ling Shu: "That's right. You should remember that when Du Yuning was in school, he liked to read his books the most, and he recited these lines very well."
Yue Dingtang: "So, this Mr. Hong is doing what he likes?"
Ling Shu: "What's interesting is that these three books are all foreign works, and none of them are domestic. And Du Yuning's love for poetry during his lifetime also had a bias in this regard. Maybe she can't recite Bai Letian's most famous three books. A poem, but half of Shakespeare’s lines can be written silently.”
"I also have some interesting discoveries here, come and see."
Yue Dingtang walked to the bed and gently lifted the pillow.
Below is a book.
"Golden Plum".
Ling Shu picked up the book and opened it.
Yue Dingtang found that he was still wearing two white gloves: "Where did you get the gloves?"
Ling Shu lowered his head to read the book, and said casually, "Ask Shen Renjie what he wants, and he will give it away with your tiger skin. It's not worth the money, but it can come in handy at critical moments to avoid leaving fingerprints on the book cover. , it was discovered by careful people that someone moved here. You see—"
Li Ping'er whispered to Jade Pavilion, and Pan Jinlian was drunk on the grape rack.
This is one of the most well-known chapters in Jin Ping Mei.
It not only deeply depicts human nature, customs and world conditions, but also satisfies the voyeuristic desire of ordinary people.
The pages of this chapter, which have been repeatedly turned over, are far more wrinkled and worn than other pages, indicating that the owner must read them often.
Ling Shu showed an inexplicable smile: "I'm afraid this "Golden Vase" is far more attractive to Hong Xiaoguang than those poetry collections on the table."
Yue Dingtang: "The collection of poems is used to please Du Yunning, and "Jin Ping Mei" is what I like to read, so of course it's different. This Hong Xiaoguang, won't it be a smashing party?"
Similar to Xianrenjian, Demolishing the White Party is a folk slang term that refers to those who use some means to deceive money and sex, and set up a situation for the victims.
The world is chaotic, fish and dragons are mixed, three religions and nine streams are coming out of their nests, such demolition parties are everywhere, the small ones cheat to eat and drink, and the big ones make people bankrupt.
Especially those poor children who were originally gangsters, relying on a decent face, dressing up a little, and rhetoric, lured rich women into the game, making them bewitched by their own beauty, and then asking for anything, it was published in the newspapers many times, and everyone has seen it. Get used to it.
"But dismantling the white party generally only makes money and not kills, right?"
Now not only Du Yuning is dead, but even he is carrying a black cauldron out of thin air.
This situation has been confusing so far, and the real culprit has not yet surfaced. If the white party is to be demolished, these people are too magical to be amazing.
Ling Shu flipped through the novel and put it back in place.
The room is not big, and it takes a blink of an eye to turn around every step of the way. Most of the furnishings are owned by the landlord, and even a set of pajamas is replaced in the closet. It can be seen that Hong Xiaoguang's economy is not rich.
Although Du Yuning is naive and inexperienced, her literary attainments far exceed those of ordinary wealthy daughters. If Hong Xiaoguang can win her heart just by being able to slap a few foreign verses, she also makes her feel dizzy and ready to elope with the other party. Also too funny.
Ling Shu felt that there must be other links in this, as well as hidden secrets that they have not yet known.
"here."
Yue Dingtang suddenly spoke up.
"What do you see from here?"
Ling Shu walked over, stood by the window, and followed his line of sight.
Thanks to the blessings of the fireworks and lights on New Year's Eve, the outside can still be vaguely seen.
Ling Shu really showed surprise, and couldn't help taking a breath.
"He really had a plan!"
The author has something to say:
A small theater that has nothing to do with the text—
Ling Shu: My dim sum...
Yue Dingtang: To handle the case, befriend the masses.
Ling Shu: My cigarette...
Yue Dingtang put the cigarette in his mouth: smoking is harmful to health.
Ling Shu didn't say anything, and gave Yue Dingtang a birthday present three days later.
Yue Dingtang opened it and saw a golden vase of plums.
Yue Chunxiao said earnestly: Brother, I told you a long time ago that reading these novels will hurt you too much!
Yue Dingtang: …