Chapter 21 The girl is missing

As he said this, Gu Hansheng shuddered all over.

"Is the hotel far from here?"

Xiao Zhou was a little confused, but still spoke honestly.

"It's not far, we can walk there."

Gu Hansheng nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.

Shi Yi knew what Gu Hansheng was thinking. He was afraid that if they were far away, Xiao Zhou would have to use a van loaded with poultry to take them there, and then the shower would be in vain.

Xiao Zhou was indeed a smart guy following the mayor. Seeing Gu Hansheng breathe a sigh of relief, he also remembered something and made repeated assurances.

"Officers, don't worry. It was just an accident. I've already had the van cleaned, and someone will send us a new vehicle later. Transportation is so inconvenient in our small town. Not only do we not have taxis, we don't even have basic buses or subways."

As he said this, Xiao Zhou felt a little ashamed.

Their small town is indeed very poor and has only recently escaped poverty.

It would be more practical to call it a small town rather than a city.

When Shi Yi heard what he said, he couldn't help but twitch his lips.

There are no taxis, no subways or buses, but there is an airport?

It's really weird.

Everyone followed Xiao Zhou outside and asked him about the case.

"I heard that the three missing girls were left-behind children. Have their parents returned?"

Xiao Zhou stood aside and pushed his glasses.

"Speaking of this..." He sighed.

"I'm back now. The school has already notified their parents. It was their grandparents who first discovered the three girls were missing. They found the school, but they didn't pay enough attention, and the golden rescue period was missed. Later, the grandmother of one of the girls reported the matter to the Education Bureau, and the Education Bureau sent people to investigate. They found out that the three girls had been missing for several days. Sigh."

Mi Chen listened silently on the side, looking a little angry.

"Isn't this school so irresponsible? The parents handed their child over to the school, and now the student hasn't been to class for several days, and the school doesn't even care?!"

Xiao Zhou felt helpless.

"It's not that we don't care. As the only high school in our town, the teachers are actually very responsible. It's just that this is a gathering place for many different ethnic groups, and each ethnic group has its own unique customs, making management very difficult and chaotic."

"The three missing girls usually have rather erratic personalities. In internet jargon, they're called 'spirited girls.' They'd skip school, get into fights, and so on. It was a common occurrence."

"It's not uncommon for students to miss school for ten days or even half a month before the teachers thought nothing of it. They assumed they were out having fun somewhere and would naturally come back when they had enough."

"Who could have imagined that they would never come back after this trip? Now we have no idea whether they are alive or dead."

As they were talking, they came to the door of an inconspicuous little shop.

"Everyone, this is it. Although it looks inconspicuous, it has been open here for more than ten years."

After walking in, Xiao Zhou called out to the boss in a familiar manner.

"Boss, give me some mushroom and chicken soup!"

The store was a little dark. When the boss, who was sitting in the kitchen, heard this, he responded hurriedly.

“Here it comes, here it comes!”

He quickly ran to the side and turned on the headlights.

"Mushroom chicken soup, right? Okay, these mushrooms are fresh and sweet, we just picked them up today. Let's stew them for you now!"

With that, the boss ran straight to the kitchen and started to get busy.

See the green hand....

Shi Yi frowned. She had seen it on the Internet before.

This green onion is a unique food in the Nanshi area and is highly poisonous.

If it is not cooked well, you will be punished.

Xiao Zhou said with a smile.

"Everyone, rest assured, this shop has been open for more than ten years and no one has ever been poisoned. You can rest assured that these are ingredients that are unique to our Nanshi area. You won't be able to eat something this delicious outside of Nanshi!"

Xiao Zhou greeted a few people and sat down on a chair on the side.

Shi Yi nodded and felt relieved.

Feng Ming was a little puzzled. "Uncle Zhou, since you said these three girls were mentally ill, why was the grandmother of one of them so sure they were missing? And why did she even report it to the mayor?"

Xiao Zhou said as he poured tea for a few people.

"Don't be fooled by the fact that these girls are good at fighting and drinking, but they are actually filial girls at heart. Even if they skip school, they will return home to report to their grandparents that they are safe. One of the girls is called Chen Hanbai. Even if she skips school, she will go home and tell her grandma. But after she left the school that time, no one saw her again. Even her grandma couldn't find her. So her grandma thought something must have happened to her, so she ran to the school to ask."

"Is there no surveillance?" Mi Chen asked.

"No... Our small town is indeed a bit poor... The road construction is not particularly complete. There is only one surveillance camera at the school gate, which can't capture every corner. It can only capture them after they leave the school and never come back."

As he was talking, Xiao Zhou also frowned, and suddenly seemed to remember something and slapped his thigh.

"Oh, I remember now. The last time we saw them in the school surveillance footage, the three girls were in a hurry as they walked out of the school gate, as if they were on their way to do something."

Gu Hansheng said in a deep voice.

"Can we take a look at this surveillance footage?"

Xiao Zhou nodded quickly.

"Okay, okay, I'll call the school administrator right away and have him pull up the surveillance footage. We'll be able to check it out right away when we get there."

Gu Hansheng nodded, "Chicken soup is here!"

The boss brought a smoking pot from the side and placed it in the middle of the crowd.

"Please enjoy your meal!"

The lid of the casserole was slowly opened, and the fragrant aroma filled the air, which almost aroused Shi Yi's appetite.

“It smells so good…”

Mi Chen couldn't help smacking her lips, and she pointed at something floating above the pot.

"Boss, is this the Jianshouqing you mentioned? So this is what it looks like after being cooked."

The boss was a bald, burly man. When he heard what Mi Chen said, he chuckled.

"I can tell you're from out of town, right? After the rain here, mushrooms are plentiful and delicious, and they go perfectly with chicken soup. Don't be fooled by the high prices in our shop, but they're definitely worth it!"

"You're no longer allowed to pick mushrooms on Panlong Mountain not far away. There aren't many places to pick mushrooms these days. I picked these on the mountain next door early this morning. They're plump and fresh. Enjoy them!"