Chapter 390 Visiting Mr. Qin

At five o'clock that evening, Zhou Yi arrived at the staff housing building of a certain government agency as agreed.

After showing his ID and registration information, the security guard at the door let him in.

He was carrying a bag of fresh fruit and knocked on a door.

"Here it comes." An old lady's voice called out from inside the room.

After a while, the door opened. An old lady wearing glasses opened the door with a kind smile on her face.

The warm yellow light in the room illuminated Zhou Yi standing in the corridor.

"Hello, may I ask..." Zhou Yi was about to ask in a humble tone.

The old lady smiled and asked, "Is that Xiao Zhou? Lao Qin is cooking in the kitchen. Come in quickly."

The person Zhou Yi contacted today was none other than Qin Beihai, the leading figure in the province's forensic medicine industry.

This was the only person he could think of who might be able to help him.

Although they had only met once, at least he was impressed by Mr. Qin's professional ability and personal charm. No matter what, he had to give it a try.

He called in the morning, but Qin Beihai answered the phone immediately. When he learned that Zhou Yi came to the provincial capital, he was obviously a little surprised, but his tone sounded very happy.

He said he was holding a seminar in the neighboring city and would give a report soon, but he would return to the provincial capital this afternoon.

Qin Beihai gave him an address and asked him to come to his house around five o'clock in the evening.

Zhou Yi felt flattered by Qin Beihai's attitude. He didn't expect that the other party would invite him to his home directly, even though they had only met once.

The old lady enthusiastically pulled Zhou Yi in and closed the door.

"You are the master's wife, right? I'm so embarrassed to come here without permission. I bought some fruits for you and Mr. Qin." Zhou Yi said and quickly handed over the fruit in his hand.

The old lady smiled and said, "You're here, why are you buying anything?"

"It's my first time visiting you. I just want to express my gratitude. It's not something very valuable." Zhou Yi said embarrassedly.

The old lady took it and asked Zhou Yi to sit down quickly.

At this time, Qin Beihai, wearing an apron, came out of the kitchen with a spatula in his hand: "Zhou Yi is here?"

He was still the same as the last time we met, energetic and with a voice as loud as a bell.

"Mr. Qin, I'm sorry to trouble you."

"Of course not. I'm really happy you can come." Qin Beihai asked, "Can you handle spicy food? Just two more dishes would be nice."

Zhou Yi smiled and said, "It's okay, I can eat it."

"That's fine, you sit for a while." After saying that, Qin Beihai went into the kitchen again.

It was somewhat different from his previous authoritative temperament at work.

At this time, the old lady brought a glass of water, handed it to Zhou Yi, and said with a smile: "Xiao Zhou, come and sit down, don't just stand there."

"Thank you, Master's wife." Zhou Yi quickly took the cup of water and sat down.

He took a quick look around the house. It was a two-bedroom, one-living room apartment, not big, and the decoration was rather old, but it was very clean. There was nothing extra in the house, and everything was neatly arranged.

The Qin couple lived in the staff housing of a certain government agency, but this agency belonged to the cultural department, not the public security department, which meant that it was the workplace of Qin's lover.

Judging from her age, the old lady must have retired, after all, female cadres retire earlier.

Zhou Yi didn't know the old lady's last name, nor was it appropriate to ask, so he could only call her "Master's Wife". It wouldn't be wrong, and it would also help to bring them closer.

The old lady was thin and wore glasses, but she stood very straight, looking quite like an old-fashioned intellectual.

Considering the place where they live, she is probably a well-educated and respectable woman.

"Xiao Zhou, how old are you this year?" The old lady looked at Zhou Yi and asked with a smile on her face.

"Twenty-three this year." Zhou Yi replied quickly.

The old lady then asked some questions about Zhou Yi's personal situation, such as what his family does and his work situation. Zhou Yi answered all of them truthfully.

But what surprised him was that the old lady looked at him with an expression of appreciation and satisfaction.

Zhou Yi was in a daze. Logically speaking, this was the first time he met Qin Lao's lover, and Qin Lao had only met him once because of the dismemberment case in Donghai Community.

The old lady wouldn't be so enthusiastic.

Zhou Yi even had an illusion. Could it be that the old couple had a daughter who fell in love with him and wanted him to be their son-in-law?

But on second thought, I felt that this possibility was very small.

Let’s not talk about whether a forensic leader and a retired female cadre from a cultural institution would be so careless.

Just looking at the age of the two, they are at least 65 years old. If their generation had normal reproduction, their children would be at least middle-aged in their 30s or 40s.

He really couldn't figure it out, but the old lady's burning gaze made him confused.

Soon, Qin Beihai invited the two of them to dinner.

Zhou Yi wanted to help serve the dishes or something, after all, he was asking for help from the other person and he was the junior.

But the two old men refused to let him do it, which made him feel very embarrassed.

Aren’t Mr. Qin and his lover too enthusiastic?

I have to say that Mr. Qin’s cooking skills are really good. For Zhou Yi, who has been eating fast food for several days in a row, it is considered an improvement in his diet.

The old lady's words with a smile left Zhou Yi dumbfounded.

The old lady said, "Lao Qin hasn't cooked for a long time. We usually just have to eat at the company cafeteria. Come on, Xiao Zhou, eat more."

This really shocked Zhou Yi. What was going on? Was his salary so high?

"Mr. Qin... Another case happened in Hongcheng. I wonder if you have heard about it?" Zhou Yi asked tentatively. After all, he was almost halfway through his meal, and it would be inappropriate not to ask.

Qin Beihai nodded: "Are you talking about the Hongda case?"

Zhou Yi was immediately delighted. It turned out that it was right to find Qin Beihai. With his level of expertise, he must know the circumstances of the case. Moreover, once the word "Hongda" was uttered, it was clear that the deceased was a student of Hongda University.

Zhou Yi was about to ask about the situation when Qin Beihai said, "We have a rule in our family that we don't talk about work during meals."

This made Zhou Yi swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue. He couldn't be so clueless.

"Xiao Zhou just said that his grandfather was a veteran of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression." The old lady said to Qin Beihai.

Qin Beihai was surprised: "Really?"

Seeing him looking at him, Zhou Yi nodded.

"Have you ever fought against the Japanese?"

"Yes, I've fought both the Japanese and the foreigners."

"Oh, your grandfather is really worthy of respect. Bring me good things when you go back."

Zhou Yi nodded quickly.

"I was too young when the Japanese surrendered. I was only thirteen years old. I didn't have this opportunity. It's a pity that I couldn't be born a few years earlier." Qin Beihai shook his head.

"So what do your parents do for a living?"

“They were all steel mill workers.”

"Oh, working class, good, good, good." Qin Beihai said three good words in a row, "Your family background is quite good."

Zhou Yi could understand Qin Beihai's reaction. Their generation was the first generation of young and middle-aged people after the founding of the People's Republic of China. They had witnessed the devastation of the old society and devoted themselves to the new society. They respected the traditional working class and peasant class from the bottom of their hearts and did not think that they were superior to others.

This is the noble virtue of the older generation of nation builders.

After dinner, at Zhou Yi's repeated insistence, he washed the dishes.

He felt really ashamed that he went to the old couple's house to have a meal and did nothing.

Outside the kitchen, Qin Beihai and the old lady looked at Zhou Yi's back. Their eyes were complicated, showing loneliness, sadness, relief and emotion. Their gazes seemed to travel through time and space.

"Is it similar?" Qin Beihai asked in a low voice.

The old lady nodded: "Similar, the eyes are similar, and the mouth is somewhat similar too."

Qin Beihai sighed softly: "It's been twelve years..."

Zhou Yi was washing dishes when Qin Beihai asked, "Zhou Yi, where do you live?"

This question reminded Zhou Yi that he hadn't found a hotel yet, so he casually replied, "I'll just find a hotel nearby later."

"Since you haven't booked a hotel yet, why not stay here tonight?"

"Ah?" Zhou Yi was startled and turned around to refuse.

But then Qin Beihai said again: "Play a game of chess with me and chat."

This sentence made him change his mind. He had been here for so long, and all he had done was eat and chat, and the most important thing had not been mentioned yet.

"That's not a good idea. I'm afraid it will disturb you and your wife."

The old lady smiled and said, "Don't bother me. The second bedroom is empty. I'll change the sheets for you."

What happened to Qin Beihai's house today really made Zhou Yi confused, so he stayed there in a daze.

After cleaning up the second bedroom, the old lady picked up a book and went into the master bedroom, saying, "You two fathers, please chat slowly."

The old lady's kind look reminded him of his grandmother.

A light was on on the balcony. Qin Beihai was setting up a sandalwood chess game and waved at him.

"Zhou Yi, how are your chess skills?" Qin Beihai waved his hand towards him when he saw him standing there.

Zhou Yiban sat down straight and replied, "It's okay."

Qin Beihai smiled and said, "It's okay. To be honest, I'm also a terrible chess player. Come on, let's have a try."

The two began to play chess under the light.

But Zhou Yi's mind was not on playing chess at all. He was thinking about how to start the conversation, so he made several bad moves in a row and Qin Beihai captured several of his pieces.

Suddenly, Qin Beihai said, "One of my students has been sent over to provide support for your Hongcheng dismemberment case."

"Is that Forensic Doctor Shen?" Zhou Yi was referring to Shen Zhaoxing, whom he had met last time.

"It's not Xiao Shen, it's the other one, whose surname is Wang."

Zhou Yi found out that in his previous life, the provincial capital had indeed sent a forensic doctor named Wang to provide technical support for the autopsy. He just didn't expect that he was also Qin Beihai's student. It turned out that he was not just a big shot.

"Mr. Qin, to be honest, I am not on the list of members of the special task force for this case." At this point, Zhou Yi could only speak frankly.

But Qin Beihai was one step ahead of him and asked, "So you want me to recommend you to the task force?"

Zhou Yi nodded solemnly.

"Zhou Yi, do you know why you are not on the list of task force members?"

Zhou Yi shook his head and said, "Maybe I don't have enough experience."

Qin Beihai stretched out his hand and pushed one of his chess pieces forward. After the final move, he formed a "check" against Zhou Yi.

Mr. Qin said: "You have been reported anonymously."