Chapter 40: New Clues, Team Ji, I found a new...
At first, the two thought that this type of knife was difficult to find. After all, they couldn't find it in the first two stores they visited. But they never expected that knives of this style would appear in large quantities in the later stores.
Deng Xingwang was so confused at this time.
"When I first found this knife, I thought I was incredible. I found it so quickly. I wondered if other stores still had it, so I asked around. Turns out six stores were selling it. I bought one from each store, hoping to compare it to the murder weapon."
Qiu Jiang sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly, and even his voice revealed a hint of weakness. "Me too."
She perked up and asked, "Did you show them Wei Li's photo?"
"They looked, but they either couldn't remember or said they had never seen the person. There was no useful information at all."
Well, nothing was accomplished.
No wonder Chen Da and the others searched outside for the whole day.
One thing to be thankful for is that no similar fruit knife was found on the entire street near Chen Da, which means that it is almost certain that the murder weapon came from this street.
"Why don't we go back and get it checked first?" Deng Xingwang asked.
Qiu Jiang nodded, "Okay."
It was noon when they both arrived, and it was already past three o'clock when they left. Taking advantage of the fact that the laboratory was not busy that day, they hurriedly took Ji Mingcheng's approval slip to the laboratory to cut in line.
In order to know the results as quickly as possible, the two of them didn't even plan to leave and just stood by and watched others undergo the tests.
They didn't know much about the tests, but they could feel that the young man doing the tests on them was very professional, so they felt a little relieved and waited for the results with peace of mind.
About an hour passed, and their legs became weak from standing. They each found a chair in the laboratory and waited anxiously for the results.
At this moment, seeing the man pull out a piece of paper and start writing, Qiu Jiang jumped up from the chair and rushed over, staring down at the words he wrote.
Although it was sloppy, she could still understand the result.
The ingredients of the test products are exactly the same and can be determined to be produced at the same location.
This result proves that their previous guess is entirely possible.
That fruit knife might have been bought from Kaiyuan Road.
Even if we still can't get a definite result, it's at least a clue.
Qiu Jiang and Deng Xingwang happily high-fived each other in the air, and ran back excitedly to find Ji Mingcheng to report the good news.
Ji Mingcheng smiled and said, "Well done, I'll give you two a credit."
Before Qiu Jiang could do anything, Deng Xingwang's eyes lit up.
Their season team hasn't praised him yet, this is the first time ever, it's so touching.
Although Deng Xingwang had previously wanted to perform better and try to get a reward from the quarterly team, at this moment, he was completely immersed in the joy of being praised and had completely forgotten his previous plans.
He was laughing foolishly.
It is so simple that people can see through it at a glance.
Qiu Jiang felt happy for him for a moment, then quickly asked Ji Mingcheng, "Captain Ji, what should we do next? Should we take Wei Li's photo again and ask them to identify him?"
"Okay." Ji Mingcheng still didn't object, "But those shops are probably closed a long time ago, let's talk about everything tomorrow."
Well, they looked at the sky outside which was getting dark and realized that they were a little too anxious.
After saying goodbye to him, the two went back to the office to pack up their things. When they followed Deng Xingwang to the bicycle shed to ride their bikes, she remembered something terrible.
"Oh no, my car."
Deng Xingwang heard her say this just after he pushed the bike out, and realized that they had made a mistake, but it was not very convenient to ride it now.
"Then how are you going to get back?"
Qiu Jiang thought of a way and immediately ran out. A clear voice was already coming from outside.
"Xingwang, I have to catch the bus. I'll leave on time."
"Okay, slow down." Deng Xingwang shouted outside the door.
Unfortunately, there was no echo at this time.
"Really...really fast." Deng Xingwang was particularly impressed.
She quickly rushed to the bus stop and breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the bus approaching her less than fifty meters away.
Finally caught up.
"Qiu Jiang."
Seeing Ji Mingcheng and Lu Jianian in the car, Qiu Jiang smiled and greeted them.
"Captain Ji, Forensic Doctor Lu."
"Next." Ji Mingcheng threw an envelope over.
Qiu Jiang stretched out his hands to take it, and felt that it was made of paper, which was quite thick.
She looked at him curiously, "This is..."
"This is the reward I applied for you. It's not much. Buy some snacks."
She was instantly overjoyed and thanked him loudly, "Thank you, Captain Ji."
The sound was particularly loud, showing that he was truly happy.
Ji Mingcheng's expression was slightly amused, as if he knew how to bribe this little girl.
Just then, the bus arrived. Qiu Jiang quickly waved goodbye to them and happily jumped on the bus.
The smile on her face never faded throughout the journey. If she hadn't adhered to the principle of not showing off her wealth, she would have opened the envelope to see how much money was in it.
Although the exact amount is unknown now, judging from the feeling she felt when she held it, it was definitely a lot.
Today is such a lucky day.
"I'm back--" As soon as she arrived in the yard, her voice was wavy, and her little face, which was chilled by the cold air, was filled with joy.
A palpable good mood.
Qiu Hengan and his wife looked at her with a smile, "You're back, hurry up and wash your hands and get ready for dinner."
"Look what this is?" Qiu Jiang slammed the envelope on the table and looked at them with excitement.
Shi Yuexiu picked it up with a smile, "Then let me take a look."
As soon as she opened the envelope, she was stunned, "This is..."
There were about a dozen blue-black banknotes in a stack, each one brand new and cool enough to make one's hands feel hot.
"Hey, here's my bonus, two thousand dollars."
After secretly counting them on the way, Qiu Jiang stretched out two fingers with curved eyes.
"How about it, isn't it great?" She kept asking for praise.
"Amazing! Our Jiang Jiang is getting more and more powerful."
"Put it away quickly and save it sometime."
Shi Yuexiu and the other person said this one after another, but she shook her head with bright eyes.
"Brother and sister-in-law, I want to discuss something with you."
They looked at each other, then turned back to look at her.
"What's going on?"
"Should we open a small shop? We can sell anything."
Seeing that the two seemed to want to say something, Qiu Jiangxian hurriedly added, "I don't mean anything else. I just want to see if you're willing. Big brother has such good craftsmanship, if he opens a small shop, it will definitely be very popular. Sister-in-law works so hard at work that sometimes she can't even straighten her back when she gets home. If we open a small shop and business is good, then you two can be together more often. Sister-in-law won't be so tired, and Big brother won't have to bother making those little bamboo toys, which makes him prick his hands from exhaustion."
She had this idea when she heard Deng Xingwang and the others talk about it last time, but she had no money and didn't have the conditions even if she wanted to do it. Now that she suddenly had so much money, she became interested.
But she still wanted to hear their opinions first as to whether or not to do it.
Qiu Hengan frowned upon hearing this, "This money is yours, save it well..."
"Brother, I'm going to get angry if you say that. What's mine is yours. Don't forget that you guys raised me since I was little. Even though my parents passed away early, you never let me suffer any injustice. Our family is in a difficult situation now, but as long as we work together as a family, I believe we will get better. So if you guys tell me about your relationship now, I'll be really sad."
"Besides, look at how our company provides us with clothes, and how we have enough to eat and drink. We don't need this money for the time being, so we might as well put it to better use."
"Besides, even the picky eaters on our season team think that Big Brother's cooking skills are very good. If we really open a store, it will definitely be very popular. That way, we can earn back our money in no time, right?"
She went on and on about the benefits of owning her own shop, and finally said, "So please don't say this money is yours or mine. Now I just want to ask for your opinion. No matter what, I can accept it."
Qiu Jiang stared at them seriously, with seriousness in her eyes.
Qiu Hengan and the other man felt both touched and hesitant.
After all, there are many preparations to be made for opening a store, not to mention that he is disabled. If he really opens a store, Ah Xiu will definitely have to resign. If he can't sell anything, then she...
He was hesitant, but Shi Yuexiu gritted her teeth and made up her mind, "Heng'an, I think what Jiang Jiang said is right. I believe in your craftsmanship. Let's set up a stall first. I'll ask the factory for a few days off to prepare. If business is good, we can open a shop together. If business is bad, we won't lose anything."
"My sister-in-law is wise." Qiu Jiang praised her with flattery.
Shi Yuexiu laughed, and it seemed that even the fine lines at the corners of his eyes were soaked with smiles.
Seeing that they had made up their minds, Qiu Hengan stopped worrying about it.
"Okay, let's go give it a try."
"Yeah."
The two little ones who had been eavesdropping on their conversation clapped their hands in agreement.
Qiu Jiang had great faith in her eldest brother's craftsmanship and had no doubt that no one would come to buy. So the next day when she went to work, she asked a colleague who came to the office if he knew of a store near her home that was going to sell the goods.
"It doesn't have to be too big, but it's best if you can accept that you won't be able to rent it for a full year."
"I do know him, but how long can you rent it for?"
Qiu Jiang counted and stretched out three fingers.
"Three months, that's a bit short, but I can ask for you."
"Thank you, Sister Meilin."
"What are you thanking me for? It's just a small thing." Wang Meilin pinched her delicate cheeks and smiled.
There was more than one good thing going on. "I also know a store that wants to exchange it. I'll ask them for you later."
Someone behind her said.
Qiu Jiang immediately turned around and said happily, "Thank you, Brother Wang."
Wang Li saluted her and said, "When you really decide, we will come to support you."
The others almost drooled when they heard this, and it was as if a light bulb had turned on for them.
Yes, those buns were made by Jiang Jiang himself before. Although they like to eat them, they don’t have the nerve to ask others to bring them to them every day. But if they open a store, there is nothing wrong with them buying them normally.
Not only can I support my colleague's business, but I can also eat delicious buns.
Kill two birds with one stone.
They didn't want to wait any longer. "Didn't you say you'd set up a stall at home tomorrow? Then bring me two barbecue pork buns and two meat sauce vermicelli buns. I'll pay you first, and you can refund or pay more."
As he said this, he put a ten-dollar bill on the table.
"Okay, I'll remember it now."
Qiu Jiang quickly found a pen and paper and wrote down the amount he gave and what he wanted. When the others saw that this was possible, they came over and asked for what they wanted to eat.
Before she even started work, she had already sold dozens of buns. She was so excited that she felt like she was full of energy when she started working.
Any leader would dislike such a subordinate and applaud her, saying, "Look at Comrade Qiu Jiang's passion for work. She's worth learning from."
His tone was slightly joking, and many people couldn't help but burst out laughing, but no one told him why.
Qiu Jiang's face turned red and she smiled awkwardly.
He immediately realized something was wrong.
“Actually, it’s because…”
Qiu Jiang touched his nose and told the story again.
Ji Mingcheng raised his eyebrows, and after a moment of silence, he actually took out a stack of blue-black hundred-yuan bills and placed them on her desk. "From now on, bring me breakfast every morning and you can help me with the mix. If you don't have enough money, come to me for more."
She opened her eyes wide and looked at him in disbelief.
"Why? Don't you want to do business with me?"
"No, no, no." Qiu Jiang shook her head frantically, quickly put the money away, and gave him a big smile, "Thank you for your patronage, Captain Ji. I promise to satisfy you."
Ji Mingcheng raised the corner of his lips. After she put the money away like a money-grubber, he gave the order directly, "Qiu Jiang, Wang Li, follow me now."
"yes--"
Qiu Jiang's expression instantly returned to seriousness. He grabbed his coat, put it on, and followed the two out.
After getting in the car and driving out of the bureau gate, neither of them knew where they were going, but each of them had a guess, but they didn't know if they were right.
However, after the car drove into the familiar route, they felt that they didn't need to guess anymore, they were definitely going to Kaiyuan Road.
While driving, Ji Mingcheng took out a piece of paper from his left pocket and handed it to them.
"have a look."
There were two pages in total, all filled with store names, and Qiu Jiang had impressions of many of them.
Because she was there yesterday afternoon.
The other stores were on Xingyuan Road and several other streets. She and Deng Xingwang had not been there, but they were not far away.
She understood it all at once.
"Captain Ji, is this a list of stores that have sold fruit knives?"
"Yeah." Ji Mingcheng remained concise.
Wang Li also saw the list and asked in surprise, "Did you find out by asking the manufacturer?"
"Um."
Ji Mingcheng still answered in the same way.
"Now we're focusing on questioning the shops outside of Kaiyuan Road. We'll split up and reunite after the investigation. If there's anything else, feel free to contact us."
"Got it, Team Season."
They both replied to him together.
After getting off the car, Qiu Jiang was the first to get off and walked towards Xingyuan Road. The list provided by the manufacturer showed that five stores had purchased that folding fruit knife, and this was where she was going next.
"Boss, police, I want to ask you something."
The boss, who had just been drowsy, suddenly woke up and quickly stood up and replied to her, "Comrade police officer, please speak."
"Excuse me, has this person ever bought a folding fruit knife from your store?"
The shopkeeper was startled when he saw the man. "Isn't this Wei Li? Officer, are you investigating the case at the karaoke parlor?"
"How do you know?" Qiu Jiang asked quickly.
"Hey, this thing is going viral. Everyone knows that Wei Li stabbed someone to death in a karaoke bar. How cruel!"
The boss shook his head, feeling quite emotional.
"But it's no exception. Wei Li has such a bad temper, it's normal for him to kill people."
"How do you say that?"
"Oh, nothing else. He just has a bad temper. Someone once caused trouble in his mahjong parlor, and he beat them up without saying a word. He was very fierce."
The boss remembered that he had seen him beat people several times, and his ferocious posture was as if he had a blood feud with them.
Although he was cruel before, he had never killed anyone. This time he even dared to kill people. It's really scary.
"Fortunately, although I also play mahjong, I have never been to his house. Otherwise, I would be scared to death just thinking about it now."
Seeing him sighing repeatedly, Qiu Jiang quickly asked, "Has he ever bought a fruit knife from our house before?"
The boss shook his head, "No."
She was a little disappointed.
Her expression was so easy to understand, and since ordinary people were curious, they boldly asked, "Could he be the one who killed with this knife?"
Every failure is a lesson learned. She didn't want to make the same mistake as before. "Sorry, I can't tell you that."
"Boss, thank you for your answer. I'm sorry to have taken up your time. I'll be leaving now."
The boss didn't stop her. He watched her leave the door and then chatted lively with other curious customers in the store about what happened that day.
The boss had just seen off the passengers and was moving drinks, beer and other items to the iron rack outside the door when he saw this very pretty little policewoman again.
Seeing her frowning dejectedly, the boss called out.
"Comrade police officer, didn't you ask what you wanted to ask?"
Qiu Jiang nodded dejectedly.
The remaining four stores all said they had never seen Wei Li, and she returned empty-handed again. She had not yet reached the point where she could remain calm even when faced with a catastrophe, so she couldn't help feeling a little depressed at the moment.
Seeing that the little girl looked so pitiful, the boss couldn't help but comfort her.
"Take your time to look for it. There's no rush. Your leader won't blame you."
Of course she knew that Captain Ji would not blame her, but she was unwilling to accept it.
If they still can't find it, then whatever Wei Li says will be the final word.
She pursed her lips and decided to quickly call Team Ji to confirm the store they had not visited and continue looking for clues.
"Boss, I'm leaving first."
"Hey, hey." The boss replied while arranging the goods, and sighed, "It seems like being a police officer is not easy for you. It's hard for everyone. But that knife may not have been bought by Wei Li. Maybe it was paid off by someone else as a debt."
Qiu Jiang had just walked a short distance when she heard these words and immediately turned back. Unexpectedly, when she came back again, the boss looked at her strangely.
"Boss, what is this debt repayment you just mentioned? Does Wei Li still accept items as gambling money?" She had heard of people doing this in the frontier city before, but she was not sure that anyone would still accept this method after hundreds of years, so she was a little uncertain.
The boss laughed after hearing this and said, "How is that possible?"
Before Qiu Jiang could even get disappointed, he added, "Who wants used things these days? Money can buy anything. But what can someone do if they lose money and don't have any? Every bit of money back is worth it. Otherwise, Weidong will be devastated. He can't do that."
"Does this happen often?"
"Not much, but not less either." The boss said something ambiguous, but she had a hunch that maybe this was where the problem lay.
Unexpectedly, he got such a clue before leaving. Qiu Jiang thanked him repeatedly, "Thank you, boss. I'm leaving now. Thank you so much."
She ran away quickly and disappeared in the crowd in a moment.
Ji Mingcheng and Wang Li checked all the shops that were a little further away, but unfortunately no one had any impression of Wei Li. Even if they did, they were sure that he had never come to buy a knife.
It can be said that there has been no progress in the clue of the fruit knife so far.
Wang Li frowned, confused. "None of these stores remember Wei Li coming here to buy anything. Could it be that he never came here to buy anything? Did someone else in his family buy it?"
"This possibility cannot be ruled out." This is all Ji Mingcheng could say.
But it's a clue after all. "Find photos of the other members of the Wei family and ask them."
"good."
After getting in the car, the two prepared to pick up Qiu Jiang and take her back to the bureau.
“Beep, beep, beep—”
Qiu Jiang was sprinting frantically towards Zhengyuan Street when her phone rang from beneath her clothes. She picked up the number immediately, not waiting for the other party to speak. "Captain Ji, we have a clue," she gasped, "that fruit knife might not have been bought by Wei Li. It could have been obtained from a debt paid by a gambler at the mahjong parlor."
Ji Mingcheng suddenly understood, "Where are you? Let's go find you now."
She glanced around at the surrounding signs and told him, "I'm on the path next to the McMenamin Supermarket."
"Okay, don't leave yet, wait for me."
Ji Mingcheng hung up the phone after he finished speaking. Qiu Jiang hurried to a conspicuous and open place to wait for someone. His bright dark eyes were always observing the passing cars, for fear that he would miss them.
About five or six minutes later, the familiar jeep came into her sight. Qiu Jiang waved her right hand, "Captain Ji, I'm here."
The car stopped in front of her. Ji Mingcheng's face was clearly visible through the car window. He said to her hurriedly, "Get in."
“Hey.”
Qiu Jiang opened the door and got into the car swiftly. The car drove directly to the mahjong parlor jointly opened by Wei Li and others on Zhengyuan Street.
Even at noon, when one of the owners, Wei Li, had an incident, it did not stop people from coming and going in the mahjong parlor.
After parking the car, they quickly went upstairs and headed straight for the mahjong hall on the second floor.
As soon as the three of them went up, they heard the sound of shuffling cards. As soon as they opened the door, someone came to greet them, "Hey, newcomers? It must be your first time here. What do you want to play? We have mahjong, poker, and Pai Gow. We're short of players for mahjong, so you can play right away. The other two will have to wait a while. If you want to play, it'll be a while..."
The man spoke eloquently and enthusiastically to attract customers, but when he saw the two people next to him took out their police IDs, he immediately fell silent, his forehead was pounding, and his face fell again.
"Comrade police officer."
He gave a bitter smile, his voice trembling. He obviously didn't think anything good would come of the police coming to his door at this time.
Seeing that the business of the store was getting better, they thought that their store had nothing to do with it, but it seems that they still cannot escape it.
Is there anyone worse off than them?
If he had known that this kind of thing would happen, he would never have agreed to open a mahjong parlor with Wei Li even if he was beaten to death.
It's such a sin.
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