Let's stop here and wait for the big vat to arrive.

I returned to a hotel near the warehouse and lay down until noon the next day before I could recover.

After finishing our meal, we drove back to the warehouse to wait for the large vats to be collected.

I had just returned to the warehouse when someone knocked on the gate.

Is anyone there? Is anyone there?

Through the crack in the gate, I could see two policemen and a man who looked like a village official standing outside the courtyard.

Knowing the purpose of the visitor, Zuo Ling remained calm.

After releasing about half of the coal, and then some water tanker supplies and daily necessities, filling the warehouse to almost nothing, they slowly went to open the courtyard gate.

A policeman in his early forties stepped forward and said with a smile:

"Hello, comrade, I am a police officer from a certain police station. My surname is Qin."

As he spoke, he flashed his police ID in front of Zuo Ling's eyes.

"Officer Qin, what brings you here?"

Zuo Ling was neither humble nor arrogant.

Officer Qin's attitude was gentle:

"Excuse me, do you know Lin Dacheng, Ding Xiaohu, and Wang Liang?"

"Lin... Dacheng, Ding Xiaohu, and Wang what? I don't know them. I just rented a warehouse here temporarily. Who are they?"

The village chief interjected, "They are from our village; they went missing a few days ago."

"Disappeared? What... does that have to do with me?"

Zuo Ling frowned.

Officer Qin smiled and said:

"Could you please recall where you were between September 9th and 10th?"

Zuo Ling thought for a moment:

"On the 9th, I went to the car market to buy a car, and then went back to the warehouse to receive the goods. It was late, so I spent the night in the warehouse. On the 10th, I went to the coal yard in the gate area to pick up coal. After unloading the coal, I went back to the hotel."

There are no surveillance cameras within 10 miles, but there are plenty of them beyond 10 miles.

She drives in and out of the car, and if the police want to investigate, they can find out. Zuo Ling didn't lie about this.

"Did you notice anything unusual on the night of the 9th?"

Zuo Ling shook her head: "I didn't notice. I was exhausted after a long day of driving, so I fell asleep in the car."

The village chief asked directly, "Didn't you notice anyone trying to break in?"

Zuo Ling looked surprised:

"No, did anyone try to break into my door? I didn't hear anything, and the lock wasn't damaged."

She bought a new chain and replaced it, no longer worried about them checking.

He paused for a moment, then continued:

“A few days ago, someone tried to break into my house. I turned on the loudspeaker to scare them away, and they ran away.”

The village chief, who slept late, happened to overhear:

"Oh, it's you! I was wondering who it was. You said there was a fire, and we searched for ages but couldn't find where the fire was."

"I'm so sorry to disturb your sleep. There were several people outside, and I was so scared that I had to turn on the loudspeaker to scare them."

The village chief waved his hand dismissively:

"No wonder, no wonder! There are always those who don't work hard and like to steal things, sigh! That..."

He glanced at the two police officers, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but didn't.