The next day, before dawn, Shen Huaichuan went out.
For the next two days, he barely touched the ground, and didn't return until it was almost dark, exhausted.
Zhou Qiqi saw this but didn't ask any questions. She simply kept the food warm on the stove.
What Big Gold Tooth said to Political Commissar Lei was half true and half false.
He was just a collector, and so much time had passed that he couldn't really remember who the seller was.
But when Captain Li and Shen Huaichuan stood in front of him, their imposing aura startled him.
Especially Shen Huaichuan, who looked at him with a half-smile.
"I suspect you're not just doing simple stuff; there's more to it than that. If you don't explain yourself properly, I might just set you off..."
As he spoke, he stretched his muscles and bones.
Given Shen Huaichuan's large physique, Da Jinya knew he couldn't outrun or fight him.
Under coercion and enticement, he "miraculously" remembered some fragments.
It turns out that he was involved in this black market business. After each transaction, his henchmen would secretly follow the buyer and try to steal the money back if they had the chance.
"Touch it back? I think you'd steal it back!"
Captain Li's eyes were sharp as knives.
Big Gold Tooth scratched his head.
"Hehe...but it didn't work that time! Those old couple are shrewd! The old woman, right in front of my little brother, just stuffed that roll of bills right into her crotch! Who has the guts to do that in that spot?"
He still felt a little regretful when he mentioned this.
"The few brats followed her for several blocks, but they didn't see the old woman go to the outhouse or anything. They didn't find an opportunity and came back."
Shen Huaichuan immediately ordered Big Gold Tooth to find those brats and ask them if they remembered anything.
"That's just how they look,"
A little brat scratched his head and said:
"He looks like an old farmer, a real taciturn old man, you can't get a word out of him even if you hit him three times. He listens to his old woman's nagging. As for the old woman, she has a mean face, triangular eyes and slanted eyebrows. She doesn't look like a good person at all!"
Another person tried to recall:
"A hooked nose! Yes! I remember his nose being quite hooked!"
Someone nearby immediately retorted, "Nonsense, it's clearly a flat nose, a bulbous nose!"
Regarding the couple's appearance, several people chattered and argued, saying all sorts of things.
As for their clothing, it was the most ordinary farmer's attire imaginable.
The only certainty is that both of them spoke with a strong L province accent.
Along the way, the couple explored several streets and alleys in the vicinity, and even visited the supply and marketing cooperative and the department store.
Shen Huaichuan and Captain Li, along with their men, meticulously inquired about all the places the two had visited.
Over the course of two days, dozens of testimonies were collected, forming a thick stack of papers that weighed heavily on Shen Huaichuan's hands.
Among these people, some said they were tall, some said they were short; some said they were thin, some said they were fat; and there was no consensus on the nose, eyes, or mouth.
Useful clues were almost nonexistent.
After Shen Huaichuan returned, he was troubled by the pile of testimonies.
"Eat first, then rest for a while."
Zhou Qiqi brought the steaming hot food to the table, and seeing the dark circles under his eyes, she nudged him with heartache.
"Let me take a look and help you sort things out."
Shen Huaichuan rubbed his throbbing temples, nodded, ate a few mouthfuls of rice haphazardly, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes to rest.
Zhou Qiqi pulled up a stool, sat down, picked up a pen, and focused intently.
Instead of rushing to conclusions, she worked like she was solving a complex math problem, listing all the features mentioned in the dozens of testimonies, regardless of their magnitude or whether they contradicted each other, on a piece of draft paper next to her.
The same and the different are marked with different symbols.
She looked thoughtfully at the dense markings.
My gaze fell on the descriptions of "old woman"—sharp, mean, triangular eyes, slanted eyebrows…
These adjectives actually appear relatively frequently amidst the numerous chaotic descriptions.
A vague image flickered in her mind, but she couldn't quite grasp it.
At this moment, Zhouzhou finished her homework, quietly came out with her drawing board, and sat down next to her.
The little girl couldn't speak, but her large, bright eyes were exceptionally intelligent.
Zhou Qiqi's heart stirred. She patted Zhouzhou's head, led her back to her room, took a piece of white paper, spread it in front of Zhouzhou, and whispered:
"Zhouzhou, can you draw a portrait for your aunt? An old woman."
Zhouzhou nodded vigorously, picked up a pencil with her little hand, and skillfully sketched the outline of a face on the paper.
She studied painting under Master Wu for a period of time, and now she paints quite well, quickly creating a huge human face.
Zhou Qiqi pointed to the "feature comparison table" she had compiled.
“Auntie, read it aloud, and you add to it. The old lady… um, many people say she looks a bit fierce, her eyes are… um, triangular eyes, and the corners of her eyes slant upwards…”
She picked out the most frequent commonalities and tried to describe them in a way that the child could understand.
After finishing the drawing, I added the features that appeared less frequently, according to their intensity.
Zhouzhou pursed her lips, the pencil tip moving across the paper with a scratching sound, intently revising the old woman's facial features.
The shape of his triangular eyes gradually became clearer, and his eyebrows also took on a slightly harsh upward curve.
And just like that, a strange portrait appeared, with various facial features superimposed on each other, making it somewhat eerie.
Just then, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.
Shen Huaichuan got up and opened the door. Standing outside were Political Commissar Lei and Zhou Shuhua, who was pale-faced and had hopeful eyes.
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