"So all these years, Old Liu has been working as a barber all by himself?"
"Yes, that's right, he's always been a barber."
"Besides the mute, does anyone else from the Liu family come over regularly?"
“Officer, I didn’t expect Old Liu to die. I didn’t pay much attention to it usually. There must have been someone, but I don’t remember who it was. It’s different for a mute. A woman stayed overnight at Old Liu’s house, so I naturally remembered it.”
"Sister Gao, you should know where that mute man lives, right?"
"I know, I know, but I heard she was recently hospitalized. I wonder if she's been discharged yet?"
"Sick and hospitalized? When did that happen?"
"It's too early. I heard that Lao Liu was sick before he died, and that he was quite ill."
"Do you know who else lives in the mute man's family?"
"Her mute parents, I heard, died before Liberation, leaving her all alone."
"Sister Gao, why didn't you say anything when we came to investigate last time?"
"Officer, how could I possibly talk about something like this? If I did, people would scold me. After all, the mute is pitiful too, and bringing her up would make people gossip. That's why you said there could be a reward, so I—gathered up my courage—"
"Would you be willing to take us to the mute man's house?"
"Officers, will you really reward me?"
As Gao Dayou spoke, he rubbed his hands shyly.
Wu Dinghuai thought for a moment, then took out a wallet from his pocket, pulled out a small stack of money, a few grain and oil coupons and cloth coupons, and handed them to Gao Xiuli.
“Sister Gao, this is all I have in my wallet, not much, about five or six yuan, plus some grain, oil and cloth coupons. You can take it for now. After we solve the barber case, we’ll apply to the bureau to see if we can give you another reward. But we’ll also have to see if this mute is valuable and how much he can help us solve the case.”
Gao Xiuli took the money, her hands trembling.
"Oh, officers, no need, no need. These five or six yuan plus these tickets are enough for our family's living expenses for one or two months. Thank you. Now I'll take you to the mute woman's house to see if she's come back from the hospital."
Wu Dinghuai stopped being polite to Gao Xiuli.
Based on his intuition and experience, he should be able to obtain valuable information from the mute man.
Without lingering, he struck while the iron was hot, turned off the electric fan, and led Gao Xiuli out of the living room.
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