Searching for fake people (7)
The elderly couple warmly invited Yang Fulai to eat stir-fried shredded potatoes with them.
Yang Fulai said, "No need, I've already eaten. By the way, why do you all like stir-fried shredded potatoes so much?"
The old lady said, "Because we have too many potatoes stored up at home, we have to eat them before they spoil. There's no such thing as liking or disliking them."
"Aren't you going to order another dish?"
"My wife and I don't eat much; one dish is enough for us. If we have guests or our son and daughter-in-law come back, we'll cook a few more dishes."
"Don't you get tired of eating the same dish every day?"
"We're getting old, so we're not so picky about food anymore. Once the cabbages in the fields are ripe, we'll eat cabbages every day."
There's nothing wrong with what the elderly couple said. Many elderly people do eat very simply and don't care much about the taste of the food.
But eating only stir-fried potato shreds for several days in a row is still a bit unusual.
However, apart from that, there was nothing else unusual about the elderly couple.
Yang Fulai then left.
————
Before she knew it, it was past five in the afternoon, and Jian Tanxi began her journey back to her residence.
On the way, she saw several women pushing strollers with their babies. The babies looked to be only a few months old, and their mothers looked haggard, overweight from overwork, and had dark circles under their eyes.
They also knew Jian Tanxi, so they greeted her.
Jian Tanxi also teased their child.
Not long after, Jian Tanxi left.
At that moment, she suddenly felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Soon, she arrived at her residence and went into the living room.
Not long after, the others returned as well.
Everyone continued to share their experiences as usual.
Jian Tanxi didn't get much out of today, only saying a few words.
Professor Pan determined that Cai Hongying, the woman who bought vegetables without asking the price, was a fraud. He offered his opinion, and no one objected.
Therefore, Jian Tanxi put a checkmark on Cai Hongying's name, indicating that this person must be a fake.
So far, players have identified four individuals as imposters:
An octogenarian woman who insists on using a washing machine to do her clothes;
The house was clean and tidy, with nothing stocked up. The refrigerator was full of snacks for young people, with no leftovers or health supplements.
An old lady whose grandson came to visit, but didn't fill his trunk with his luggage.
There's also Cai Hongying, who buys vegetables indiscriminately without asking prices.
Next, it was Yang Fulai's turn to speak.
Yang Fulai denied that Li Zhicheng and his wife were hypocrites, arguing that their behavior today was relatively normal and that they were a tolerant couple.
Therefore, Jian Tanxi crossed out the names of Li Zhicheng and his wife.
Next, Yang Fu said that the elderly couple eating stir-fried shredded potatoes could not be ruled out as suspects, but it was not absolute either.
Jian Tanxi circled the names of the elderly couple again, indicating that the investigation would continue.
Next, Hao Yu, Qin Man, and others spoke, each ruling out some suspects.
Now, the number of suspects remaining on the list is dwindling.
Professor Pan said, "Now we will move on to the sharing session. Everyone should still tell us what they did today, no matter how small the details."
Jian Tanxi began by sharing: "The first family I visited today was a new mother with a baby who was only a few months old. There was no one else at home. I didn't notice anything wrong, so I..."
At this moment, Jian Tanxi suddenly stopped.
Qin Man asked, "What's wrong?"
Jian Tanxi said, "No, there's a problem."
"What do you mean? Are you saying that the mother has a problem?"
"Yes. In the past few days, all the new mothers I've seen, especially those with very young children, have looked extremely tired, with poor complexions and dark circles under their eyes. It's because taking care of a baby is so exhausting; the babies often wake up at night, leaving the mothers sleep-deprived."
But the new mother I met before had a rosy complexion and no dark circles under her eyes. Her baby was only a few months old and woke up several times a night. I think the only explanation is that she's a pseudo-human, so her metabolism is different from others.
Qin Man recalled, "You're right... that new mother's name seems to be Feng Lin, I've met her before. I didn't notice anything wrong with her at first, but now that I think about it, she looked really healthy. But, she's raising a child alone, does she really have time to take care of her health? I think we should add Feng Lin's name to the list."
So, Jian Tanxi added the mother's name to the paper.
Jian Tanxi continued, "There's something I forgot to mention. I saw a peasant woman on the road; she smelled very nice, but the scent was rather cheap. Then later I went to..."
Qin Man interrupted her: "Wait a minute, is the peasant woman you mentioned about 165 cm tall, dark-skinned and strong, with a ruddy complexion, short hair, and gray hair at her temples?"
"Yes, it's her."
“I ran into her yesterday and smelled the fragrance on her too. If that fragrance came from cheap shower gel or shampoo, surely a peasant woman wouldn’t wash her hair every day?”
Yang Fulai said, "I also met that peasant woman, and I remember she did smell nice. But none of the other peasant women I met smelled that good."
Qin Man asked, "On what day did you meet?"
Yang Fulai: "The first day."
Qin Man: "I met her on the second day, and Tanxi on the third day. It's not normal for a peasant woman to smell so good for three consecutive days... I don't know where the fragrance on her body comes from, I think we should investigate this further."
Qin Man wrote the peasant woman's name on the paper—Dong Xiaohua—and circled it.
Then, Jian Tanxi continued.
She finished speaking in one breath, and no new clues were found.
Then the others take turns sharing.
Professor Pan said, "The first family I encountered today was the family that sells sesame cakes. However, the woman wasn't at her stall today, and I thought something had happened to her, so I went into her house. Unexpectedly, she was fine; she was just helping her daughter with her homework..."
Hao Yu said, "Something's not right. She's raising two children alone, how could she not set up her stall for two days in a row? Earning money is the most important thing to her, she wouldn't just stop setting up her stall because of a little rain or because it's too cold. I've never seen a manual laborer who's so pampered."
Professor Pan nodded and said, "What you said makes sense... Then we can observe this person further."
Professor Pan wrote on the paper: The old lady who sells sesame cakes—Aunt Wu.
Next, other people shared their observations, but there weren't many clues.
On the fourth day, the players discovered that the fragrant peasant woman actually used hand and foot cream every day. However, the skincare products she used were relatively inexpensive, resulting in a strong artificial fragrance. The scent wasn't sophisticated, but it was very pervasive.
This is surprising, because farm women usually don't take great care of their hands and feet. After all, farm work will make their hands and feet rough anyway, so applying hand cream and foot cream is pointless.
The players thought the peasant woman was likely a fake, so they wrote her name on the paper: Aunt Wei.
Today, Feng Lin, a stay-at-home mom who is independently caring for her child, still looks great. However, when the player spoke with her, they learned that she hadn't slept well last night. Yet, she didn't have dark circles under her eyes.
Suspicion against the new mother, Feng Lin, has deepened.
The elderly couple who always eat stir-fried shredded potatoes are still eating stir-fried shredded potatoes today, with no change, which increases their suspicion.
The old lady selling sesame cakes set up her stall today.
Over the next few days, these individuals became the focus of the players' observation.
The farmer, Aunt Wei, still applies perfume to herself every day without fail.
New mother Feng Lin still had a rosy complexion and showed no signs of staying up late.
As for the old lady who sells sesame cakes, she only spent half the time setting up her stall and the other half resting at home.
The elderly couple who eat stir-fried shredded potatoes have never changed their diet; they always eat stir-fried shredded potatoes.
These individuals are all highly suspicious.
However, there are only seven fake players in total. The players had already confirmed four, so now there are only three spots left.
A wrong judgment will lead to death.
There were five people in total: Aunt Wei, a farmer who smelled very sweet; Feng Lin, a mother full of energy; an old lady who sold sesame cakes; and an elderly couple who ate stir-fried potato shreds every day.
On the ninth day, after discussing it for a whole day, the players finally decided that Aunt Wei, the peasant woman who used hand cream and foot cream every day, was 100% a fake.
Players had previously asked Aunt Wei why she used hand and foot cream. Her answer was that she saw others using them, so she did too.
This answer sounds like something a fake would give. Because she doesn't know what a real peasant woman is like, and how she tries to fit into the group by imitating others.
However, she didn't realize that she could only imitate other peasant women. She was trying to imitate women who didn't do manual labor, which is why she was exposed.
After confirming that she was a fake, only two fake person slots remained.
The players each held their own opinion and refused to give in.
This wasn't about stealing credit, but because they absolutely couldn't afford to make a wrong judgment this time, or they would lose their lives.
Therefore, once people decide that someone is a fraud, they will persist in trying to persuade others.
But by evening, neither of them could convince the other.
With the deadline fast approaching, nobody knows what to do.
Yang Fulai said, "How about this, we draw lots, and whichever suspect we find, we report that one."
Hao Yu said, "No, I don't agree with this plan. It's too frivolous."
No one else spoke.
Professor Pan suddenly looked at Qu Chen and said, "We haven't asked Xiao Chen for his opinion yet."
Hao Yu shouted, "Ask a child with autism? Are you out of your mind?"
“I’m not crazy. Xiao Chen has special abilities, and his judgments are usually accurate.”
So Jian Tanxi asked Qu Chen directly, "How about we treat that healthy-looking new mom, Feng Lin, as a fake?"
Qu Chen did not respond.
Jian Tanxi then asked, "What do you think about us treating that old lady who doesn't often set up her pancake stall as a fake?"
Qu Chen still didn't react.
Hao Yu panicked: "This child is an idiot, stop asking."
Qin Man and Jian Tanxi both frowned.
However, Qin Man still said in a kind tone, "Director Hao, let's wait until Tan Xi finishes asking her last question."
Jian Tanxi then asked Qu Chen, "How about we treat that old couple who always eat stir-fried shredded potatoes as imposters?"
Unexpectedly, Qu Chen started crying and screaming, saying, "No...no..."
Jian Tanxi looked up in surprise and saw that Professor Pan and Qin Man also looked delighted.
Only Hao Yu and Yang Fulai looked suspicious.
Yang Fulai said, "No, we absolutely cannot listen to an autistic child."
Hao Yu: "Exactly, entrusting our lives to this child? Are you crazy...?"
Jian Tanxi looked at them and said, "Then I'll have to offend you."
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