Chapter 499 A Fog
Jiang Zhizhi pinched Shang Shang's little face again: "Little girl, you still hold a grudge."
He got up, picked up Shangshang, and went to wash up. Then he greeted Fang Guozheng and his wife, who were talking in the living room.
Cong Meilan smiled and said, "Aren't we too early? Your uncle said he would come over after lunch, but I said there's no rush to visit relatives for the New Year. If we come early, we can play with Shangshang and Xiao Zhouji for a while."
Shang Shang happily asked her great-aunt to hold her: "Great-aunt, hug me, let's go see the big fish."
Cong Meilan smiled and said, "Look at our Shangshang, her sweet words are getting sweeter and sweeter..."
Cong Meilan's two grandsons are already in elementary school. Her son and daughter-in-law have been transferred to the south, so she went with them to the south to take care of the children, afraid that her two grandsons would be left unattended.
Therefore, I have had very few opportunities to meet with Jiang Zhizhi and the others in the past two years.
Cong Meilan sat down with Shangshang in her arms and sighed, "I'm just destined to worry. I couldn't really help much in the past. Both children ate at the cafeteria for all three meals and did their homework by themselves when they came back."
“I don’t have much to do there, but I’m just worried. What if the couple goes on a mission and isn’t home? The child is young and needs someone to keep him company.”
"But I live there and I'm not used to the climate there. It's too humid, and I feel like my arthritis is about to flare up."
Fang Guozheng said disdainfully, "You're just making trouble out of nothing. Mingliang and Liangliang are already so old. You're just there to join in the fun."
Cong Meilan laughed: "Alright, alright, I won't go after the New Year this year. I'll just come visit Fang Hua whenever I have time, and see Shang Shang and Xiao Zhou Ji."
After chatting for a while, Fang Hua was puzzled: "Sister-in-law, the old man your relative mentioned who could cure strange diseases has actually died. Did he make a mistake? He died in October."
Cong Meilan exclaimed in surprise: "Dead? No way, my cousin said he saw him treating patients in December."
Fang Hua frowned: "Did you see it or hear about it? Did you remember the date wrong? Zhizhi and the others went there yesterday, and the courtyard was empty. The person had been dead for several months, and the death was quite gruesome."
Cong Meilan was also unsure, and turned to look at Fang Guozheng: "You were there that day too, talking about the doctor you saw in December, right? You also said that the snow was heavy and the roads were difficult to walk on, and that the old man was wearing a pair of straw sandals, right?"
Fang Guozheng nodded: "That's really true. How could he have died? He died a gruesome death. Was he murdered?"
Jiang Zhizhi recounted the old man's death again, and Fang Guozheng was surprised: "There are such strange things?"
Thinking about it, it seems normal: "If the relationship between neighbors is good, someone will help you if there is any trouble. If it is not good, no one will find out until the body rots."
Fang Hua was puzzled: "So, is this person dead or not?"
Cong Meilan was also unsure: "Could it be that I remembered it wrong? I'll ask again later."
After that topic was over, Cong Meilan remembered what she had heard recently and asked Jiang Zhizhi, "I heard that some courtyard houses are going to be vacated now, since they were originally taken over under the guise of being borrowed. Your mother's courtyard house should be returned to her as well."
Jiang Zhizhi was unsure: "I haven't heard that relocation isn't that easy, is it?"
Fang Hua nodded: "That's right, relocation isn't that easy. A courtyard house houses five, six, seven or eight families. Where are they supposed to move to?"
Fang Guozheng glanced at Cong Meilan: "You too, you believe everything you hear. Don't spread these rumors in the future."
Cong Meilan snorted coldly. She had only heard about it when relatives gathered together during the Spring Festival. If the relocation could really be completed, the Bian family's courtyard house was quite large back then.
Seeing that Cong Meilan was unconvinced, Fang Guozheng explained further: "Ordinary courtyard houses might be vacated, but a three-courtyard house like the Bian family's is probably a bit difficult."
Fang Hua waved his hand: "Alright, alright, this topic is too far removed from our lives. We're living quite well now."
Jiang Zhizhi also felt it was unlikely. Perhaps if the policy were more lenient, she could buy her own yard back.
...
Zhou Xiye went to find Song Dong early in the morning and caught Song Dong in his office as he was about to go to a meeting at the branch office.
Upon hearing that the strange old man might not be dead, Song Dong was somewhat surprised but then laughed: "This case is getting more and more interesting. He's not dead?"
Zhou Xiye couldn't be sure either: "It's just a suspicion; someone saw him treating patients in December."
Song Dong sat down again with great interest, put his hat aside, and took out paper and pen to draw a character relationship diagram: "If this strange old man didn't die, then who is the old man who died in the yard?"
"Or perhaps the strange old man killed these three people and staged a burglary to create the illusion that they all died tragically together?"
At this point, he slapped his forehead: "I actually forgot the most crucial thing. That old man's house was so dilapidated and filthy. What would a burglar rob? They would have run away after just one look. Why would they leave their lives there?"
While speaking, Song Dong made a phone call, demanding that the case be brought out for reinvestigation.
After hanging up the phone, she looked at Zhou Xiye and asked, "Aren't you busy lately?"
Zhou Xiye sat upright, always ramrod straight, and nodded slightly: "It's alright, I'm on vacation until the end of the month."
Song Dong smiled and said, "I have to say, your whole demeanor has changed since you became a father. You used to be a very difficult person to talk to, but now I can actually see fatherly love in you."
He chuckled as he spoke, "Yes, that's right, it's fatherly love."
Zhou Xiye ignored his teasing: "Can we find this old man?"
Song Dong sighed: "Finding someone is not as simple as you think. Although you need all sorts of certificates to go out and take a car now, some people can walk and climb mountains to bypass checkpoints."
“There are quite a few unregistered residents in Beijing, making them very difficult to investigate. Once you start investigating, they hide away, and once you leave, they reappear.”
Zhou Xiye glanced at him: "Is it a lack of work ability?"
Song Dong almost laughed in anger, pushing the hat in front of Zhou Xiye: "Why don't you do it? Then you'll know how difficult this job is. Recently, there have been many cases of women being assaulted and then brutally murdered."
"I don't know what's wrong with this society. I always feel that it has something to do with the large-scale return of educated youth to the city. For better or for worse, for those with jobs or those without, it's all too chaotic."
Zhou Xiye listened to Song Dong ramble on for a while before getting up to say goodbye.
Song Dong glanced at the time and exclaimed, "Good heavens, I've been so busy talking I've lost track of time. I have to go to a meeting downstairs. Let's talk later."
Zhou Xiye came out of Song Dong's office and saw that it was still early, so he decided to buy some honey-glazed pastries for Jiang Zhizhi and the children before going back.
A time-honored brand in Beijing, with limited supplies, people lined up early in the morning.
When Zhou Xiye arrived, the line was quite long, and he stood at the end of the line.
While waiting in line, lost in thought about work, I heard a woman call out clearly, "Captain Zhou?"
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