Chapter 62 Your life is in danger! Your life is in danger! You let...
Breakfast is ready.
Xiao Qiao recovered from her cold and got up early to help out, but Li Tuantuan refused and forced her to go back to her room to rest, so he and Feng Shengnan made breakfast.
With the addition of Feng Shengnan and Liu Xiangyang, the previously agreed-upon arrangement for sharing rent and food expenses will definitely have to be changed.
Feng Shengnan had already calculated the accounts, but now that Xiao Qiao might be adopted, the amount each person should pay would change, so she decided to wait until things were settled before making any decisions.
While eating, she looked at Qiu Xiaoman's hands and asked, "I saw you got your hands wet when you brushed your teeth. Doesn't it hurt? Did you change your dressing?"
"Change it after you finish eating." Qiu Xiaoman is used to washing her hands before and after meals, but now that her palms are injured, she can only wipe them with a towel.
Fearing that she would continue to push herself, Feng Shengnan advised, "You should take better care of yourself in the future. Your job definitely requires you to go out on fieldwork often, and it won't be convenient if you get injured."
"Okay, good." Today's breakfast was congee with preserved egg and lean pork, which was much more substantial than the plain rice congee Li Tuantuan usually made. It also had some chopped mushrooms and diced cabbage sprinkled in, making it very fresh and delicious. Qiu Xiaoman ate two bowls in one go and couldn't help but praise Feng Shengnan.
Feng Shengnan blushed: "I'm glad you like it. Um... I want to go see Zhao Qing, but I don't know if she'd like to see me. Could you ask her for me?"
After all, Zhao Qing, that silly girl, had followed her; otherwise, how could she have been abducted? Feng Shengnan still felt guilty and wanted to do something for Zhao Qing.
Qiu Xiaoman glanced at the time; it was getting late. She stood up and said, "I'll call Manager Zhao at noon to schedule a time for you. Are you going by yourself, or with the other kids?"
"I'll go by myself first, and we'll go together on Sunday." After all, Xiao Qiao and Yang Yang are both in school now, and as for Song Xiao Jun, I heard that she's planning to be discharged before she can get a cornea, otherwise, she wouldn't be able to afford the daily hospital fees.
Qiu Xiaoman had no objections, went back to her room to wash her hands and change her dressing, and prepared to go to work.
Pushing open the door, Chai Dafei was there again, all smiles, carrying breakfast. Qiu Xiaoman said calmly, "You're late today, Tuantuan and the others have already finished eating."
Chai Dafei didn't do it on purpose; he just answered a phone call.
Grandpa Shen's 70th birthday is just around the corner. Liang Yuting has returned, but she is still battling with Shen Qinghuai and has not gone home. Instead, she is staying at a hotel with her son.
She was waiting, waiting for Shen Qinghuai to take the initiative to invite her back. Unfortunately, as the days went by, Shen Qinghuai made no move. Liang Yuting got anxious, but she couldn't bring herself to go back on her own, so she could only vent her frustrations on Chai Dafei.
She asked him to think of a way to lure Qiu Xiaoman to a remote place so she could hire an assassin to kill her and end it all.
Chai Dafei was startled and refused no matter what.
Are you kidding me? It's fine to have him act as a lackey and pass on messages, but to have him lure people out and kill them? Absolutely not.
Putting everything else aside, Officer Qiu's dogs alone are not to be trifled with, and with so many crime-solving experts in the police force, he has no intention of taking the risk of helping Liang Yuting do something like this.
Besides, even if things really succeed, even if the police can't find him, even if Liang Yuting can successfully take all the family property for herself, how much benefit can she give him?
Is it worth risking a lifetime of conscience to do such a thing?
Moreover, Liang Jianshan has been hospitalized with a cerebral hemorrhage. If Liang Jianshan dies, Liang Yuting will have very few helpers in Beidu.
He might as well surrender to Shen Qinghuai and get some benefits in return.
In short, from any perspective, he didn't want to help.
The two argued on the phone for more than half an hour, and finally Chai Dafei pretended that the signal was bad and forcibly hung up the phone.
When Qiu Xiaoman said he was late, he hesitated for a moment before gently reminding him, "I heard you helped solve a few cases. Be careful of retaliation. Try to walk with Shen Tenglong on your way to and from get off work; it'll be safer with him around."
Qiu Xiaoman didn't speak. She squinted at the young man, and for a moment, she suspected that he was talking about Liang Yuting.
It's not impossible. Shen Qinghuai himself said before that Liang Yuting might want to kill her.
She smiled and gave an OK sign.
Chai Dafei wasn't sure if she understood or not, so he could only call Shen Qinghuai later to remind her.
Since I'm going to be a lackey for rich people anyway, what difference does it make who I serve?
It's all Liang Yuting's fault. She actually tried to kill someone, so he had no choice but to tell Shen Qinghuai.
After chatting with Li Tuantuan and the others for a few minutes, Chai Dafei left. He went to a public phone booth to call Shen Qinghuai and casually revealed Liang Yuting's address.
Shen Qinghuai already knew she was back. As a big boss, he had countless people currying favor with him and tipping him off, so what Chai Dafei said wasn't surprising.
But soon, Shen Qinghuai sat up from the sofa: "What did you say? She's already hired an assassin? Bringing him from Hong Kong?"
Chai Dafeng scratched the back of his head: "I don't know either. This is my guess. People in mainland China are easy to find, so it's the easiest and most convenient to bring one from Hong Kong. Besides, they're probably not from Hong Kong."
Shen Qinghuai had already guessed that it was most likely an assassin from Malaysia, as Liang Yuting's uncle had close ties with that group.
He rubbed his aching brow: "Okay, I understand. Go find Manager Zhao to collect your tea money when you have time."
Chai Dafei was delighted. Sure enough, surrendering was the right thing to do. He reminded him, "Don't betray me. I can still help you find out more about her."
"Okay, go ahead." Shen Qinghuai hung up the phone and quickly called his old friend, urging him to finalize the bodyguard selection as soon as possible so that he could start work today.
*
Qiu Xiaoman asked Shen Tenglong to go to the tenement building: "I want to see if Xiaohua has found out anything from following them."
Shen Tenglong felt it was unnecessary: "Zhou Wang didn't come back last night. These guys usually stay up all night. In the morning, they'll eat a bowl of tofu pudding or some steamed buns at a roadside stall. They'll come back after they've eaten and drunk their fill, and then you'll be late for work."
"Captain Meng gave me three days off, it's okay if I go a little late." Qiu Xiaoman insisted on going.
Shen Tenglong had no choice but to change direction and head towards the tenement building. Qiu Xiaoman noticed the demolition signs on the street next to them and asked curiously, "Will your area be demolished soon too?"
"Who knows? They said they were going to demolish it a couple of years ago, but there's still no news. But the street next door has already been confirmed, and I heard the compensation is pretty high." Although Shen Tenglong also wanted a windfall, he heard the resettlement housing wasn't very good, so he decided to wait and see.
Qiu Xiaoman asked again, "You really don't plan to get your betrothal money back?"
"That's so embarrassing, you've already given it all away." Shen Tenglong chuckled foolishly.
Qiu Xiaoman rolled her eyes: "Isn't that your hard-earned money?"
"That's what they say..." Shen Tenglong said awkwardly, too embarrassed to admit it and not wanting to upset his cousin, so he had no choice but to shut up.
Qiu Xiaoman picked up her mobile phone and called Liu Kun.
Liu Kun got up at four o'clock and went to the construction site. He was watching the earthwork construction site and yawning constantly.
I was startled when I heard Qiu Xiaoman's voice.
He subconsciously touched his face, the feeling of being slapped still lingering in his memory, and blurted out without thinking, "Oh, Officer Qiu missed me?"
Qiu Xiaoman knew he was asking for trouble, so she asked directly, "Didn't you want to treat me to dinner?"
Liu Kun was a little agitated, and subconsciously tugged at his tie: "Yes, I've figured it out. You mean to have the Liu family acknowledge Yangyang back, or offer compensation. But I've tried, and the child refuses to go back. I'm still trying to figure out the compensation, since I don't manage the Liu family's money, and I'm not sure how much I can give. Can you tell me your expectations?"
"Let me ask Yangyang about this. I'll give you another chance to treat me to a meal." Qiu Xiaoman picked up the list of Liu family members that Shen Tenglong had prepared for her, found the name of the woman who was engaged but then broke off the engagement, and said, "Make Bai Jingjing return the betrothal money to Shen Tenglong, not a penny less. As long as you do that, I can have a meal with you. I'll set the time."
“Okay, I’ll handle it. Is there a time limit?” Liu Kun ripped off his tie completely, wrapped it around his wrist, and his eyes sparkled with excitement.
Qiu Xiaoman didn't want to make things difficult for him, so she gave him a three-day time limit.
Liu Kun chuckled: "Three days? Officer Qiu really looks down on me. How about I get it done for you today?"
"Try it out first, I don't like listening to people brag." Qiu Xiaoman prepared to hang up the phone.
Liu Kun quickly interjected, "Wait!"
"how?"
“I gave all those scarves and bags to my niece. If you’d like, you can tell me what you like, and I’ll buy you two new sets.”
"No need, I can earn the money to buy it myself."
"Then you have to give me a chance to apologize, right?"
Didn't I give you a chance?
"Does eating count?"
Why doesn't it count?
"Okay, I'll do as you say."
"Don't tell anyone about what I asked you yesterday, not even Liu Yuandou. You didn't betray me, did you?"
"Absolutely not!"
"That's good. Okay, I'm going to get back to work."
"etc!"
"What's wrong now?"
"Are you really going to investigate Liu Yuandou?"
"What, it's not okay?"
“His children and grandchildren are not to be trifled with; your life will be in danger! Let someone else investigate.” Liu Kun hesitated for a moment before saying, “I heard that at the earthwork site, one of Liu Yuandou’s grandsons got into a conflict with someone, and then the contractor who did the earthwork disappeared. Later, Liang Jianshan took over. I’ve always suspected that the contractor might have been silenced, but I have no evidence. Anyway, you’re just a police dog handler; there’s no need for you to be at the forefront. Let Captain Zou and the others handle it.”
Are you teaching me how to do things?
"I just don't want to see anything happen to you."
"You're crazy!" Qiu Xiaoman hung up the phone immediately, and her car happened to stop in front of the tenement building.
She glanced at the stairwell, whistled, and sure enough, Xiaohua hadn't returned yet.
It's almost eight o'clock. How addicted is Zhou Wang? He's been gambling all night and hasn't come back yet.
She checked the time, decided to tell Captain Meng first, picked up her cell phone, and before she could dial, the phone rang.
It was Jiang Mingyuan calling, reminding her: "I just heard from Brother Hu that there was a family annihilation case in the Third Ring Road area last night. One of the victims was a gambler, and the suspect is also a gambling addict. As for who it is, we don't know yet. If we need police dogs to help search for the suspect later, please be very careful, your injuries haven't healed yet."
"What? A family massacre?" Qiu Xiaoman really didn't know. Captain Zou didn't mention it on the phone. She asked for details, but unfortunately, Jiang Mingyuan was in charge of anti-trafficking and didn't know much either.
He continued, "I've vaguely heard rumors that the Liu family seems to have an underground casino, but I don't know exactly where. This case might be related to that casino, so you have to be very careful. The Liu family's sons and grandsons are all ruthless devils. I've dealt with two of them before, and they're very difficult to handle."
"Okay, Brother Jiang, I'll be careful." Qiu Xiaoman hung up the phone, then suddenly asked curiously, "Big Brother, do you know why Zhou Wang gets beaten and scolded by his wife every time?"
"I don't know, maybe it's because he lost money?" Shen Tenglong really didn't know. Before he was laid off, he would stay in his room reading books and tinkering with small parts every day after get off work. He didn't like to meddle in other people's business. Now that he had to run errands for his uncle, he had even less time to care about other people's affairs.
Qiu Xiaoman frowned: "We can't wait any longer, let's get to the base right away."
"Not waiting anymore?" Shen Tenglong was completely confused. Didn't they say it was okay to be late?
Fine, he'll do whatever Xiaoman tells him to do.
Upon arriving at the base entrance, I was surprised to see several construction workers wearing hard hats, going in and out, seemingly measuring something.
Shen Tenglong glanced at their uniforms and smiled: "See, I didn't lie to you. Uncle is going to set up a boiler for your heating. They are all first-level construction workers. Later, there will also be plumbers, HVAC workers, and boiler installation technicians. It's going to be lively here for a while."
Qiu Xiaoman didn't respond to that. The more Shen Qinghuai acted like this, the more ironic she felt. Why didn't he think of that earlier?
The baby starved to death, milk came in, the car crashed into a wall and it knew to turn, but it was too late.
She won't be grateful to him, not at all!
After getting out of the car, she called Shen Tenglong down: "Come on, let me introduce you to the dog."
Shen Tenglong followed curiously, squatted down in front of the doghouse, and watched Qiu Xiaoman talk to the two dogs. To him, all the dogs' words sounded like "woof woof woof," but Qiu Xiaoman's words were quite interesting.
"What, you don't like him?"
"Woof woof woof".
Why don't you like it?
"Woof woof woof".
"Oh, you said he smelled of smoke on him? That's not from him, it's from the people he's in contact with."
"Woof woof woof".
“Okay, I’ll remind him. Secondhand smoke is also harmful to health.” Qiu Xiaoman said, standing up and instructing, “From now on, no matter who rides in your car, smoking is not allowed.”
Shen Tenglong looked at her in surprise: "Can't even an uncle smoke?"
"No, just say I disagree." Qiu Xiaoman couldn't care less about Shen Qinghuai's feelings; if he did one thing, she would do the opposite.
Shen Tenglong was both amused and exasperated. He looked down and sniffed his sleeve, but he really couldn't smell anything.
In short, it must be that these two dogs disliked the smell of smoke on him. How amazing, it's just barking.
Little Man is really amazing.
As soon as Shen Tenglong got back into the car, he saw Qiu Xiaoman leading her dog out. This time, the person accompanying her on the field mission was not Team Leader Meng, but Fang Jiadong.
Team Leader Meng had a fever today and didn't come. Deputy Team Leader Qu was in charge of the police dog training, so he was asked to go on field duty with Qiu Xiaoman. This was still the combination of an experienced officer mentoring a new recruit.
After all, Fang Jiadong is indeed a more senior employee than Qiu Xiaoman.
He was accompanied by a Border Collie, a classic black and white breed, spirited and energetic, named Black and White Impermanence.
Qiu Xiaoman pointed to the police car and said to Shen Tenglong, who was waiting for him at the door, "Brother, you should go back. I don't know when I'll be back, so don't come to pick me up at noon."
Shen Tenglong heeded her advice, told her to be careful, and then left.
Qiu Xiaoman got into the police car and couldn't help but complain to Fang Jiadong: "Did you name the Border Collie?"
"Yeah, isn't it nice?" Fang Jiadong was very proud. These were police dogs he had trained. In his eyes, Black and White Impermanence were no less capable than Xiao Dezi and Mingming.
To his surprise, Qiu Xiaoman told him with a helpless expression, "Border Collie said he doesn't like this name."
"Huh? He said that? When?" Fang Jiadong's smile froze. He couldn't believe that the dog he had trained himself would dislike the name he had given it. That was impossible.
Qiu Xiaoman ignored his emotions, patted the Border Collie's head, and said truthfully, "What I was saying earlier was that Black and White Impermanence are proper ghost messengers. What makes him so special that he can take on both roles at once?"
Fang Jiadong was displeased. He frowned as he looked at the Black and White Impermanence, and after thinking for a moment, he still asked, "What's wrong with this name?"
The Black and White Impermanence pawed at Fang Jiadong's knees, barking at him in dissatisfaction.
Qiu Xiaoman had no choice but to act as the translator: "He said he's decided on his name. He wants to be called 'Heroic Man.' He'll be very sad if you don't agree. You can think about it yourself."
Qiu Xiaoman laughed and said, "No need, he chose it himself. He said he wanted to be called 'Hunky Man'."
Fang Jiadong's face was gloomy, and he remained silent.
Qiu Xiaoman had no choice but to communicate with the Black and White Impermanence on her own: "Come on, I'll call your name. If you like it, bark twice; if you don't, bark three times."
"Woof."
"Black and White Impermanence!"
"Woof woof woof!"
Qiu Xiaoman shouted again: "Hunky man!"
"Woof woof!!!"
The Border Collie was so excited that it wagged its tail and even stood up by pulling on the backrest, trying to lick Qiu Xiaoman's hand. Qiu Xiaoman held its head up and let it lick Fang Jiadong's head.
Fang Jiadong was furious. He refused to believe it and, just like Qiu Xiaoman, asked Gouzi several times, but always got the same result.
He could only reluctantly compromise: "Alright, tough guy, I'll go back and revise your file."
The muscular man barked just in time and excitedly wagged his tail.
Fang Jiadong was unhappy and deliberately said, "I'm not feeling well, Xiao Qiu, you can drive."
"I can't drive, you drive." Qiu Xiaoman sat in the back seat, with one arm around Huihui and the other stroking the muscular man's head, thoroughly enjoying herself.
Fang Jiadong became even more dissatisfied, frowned, glanced at the rearview mirror, and remained silent.
Qiu Xiaoman could tell he was unhappy, but there was nothing she could do; there was no need to force a dog to have a name it didn't like.
As the car passed a shopping mall, Qiu Xiaoman saw stray cats at the entrance. Remembering the colleague who had looked for her several times, she picked up her mobile phone and said, "Team Leader Zou, I'm here. You don't need to send Comrade Wu Shirong's cat to the base. Just take it to the Criminal Investigation Department building."
“Okay, I’ll talk to him.” Team Leader Zou was a little surprised. “No, you’re injured, why are you still being sent on fieldwork?”
Qiu Xiaoman explained, "We're short-staffed and too busy. Captain Meng and Lu Zhiqiang both have fevers, and Deputy Captain Qu is in charge of this month's police dog assessment, so Fang Jiadong and I came here."
"And your hand—"
"I'm fine, just a minor injury. By the way, has my magpie returned?"
"I...I can't tell which one it is."
"Okay, I'll talk to you when I get there."
"Okay." After hanging up the phone, Captain Zou quickly went to find Chen Jianjun and asked him to go to the clinic on the back street and buy some disinfectant and gauze to prevent Xiao Qiu from accidentally reopening his wound while on duty.
With everything ready, Qiu Xiaoman arrived. She found the magpie from yesterday, stood at the window of Captain Zou's office, and whistled.
The magpie flew over and complained about the matter.
Qiu Xiaoman pondered for a moment, then locked the office door and wrote a few words on a piece of paper.
Team Leader Zou was dumbfounded. It turned out that Fang Zhenhong had obtained a fake medical record from the clinic after leaving yesterday. He went in for less than five minutes and came out without receiving any IV fluids.
After leaving the clinic, he went to Liu Yuandou's villa, met Liu Yuandou, and the two talked for more than an hour.
Afterwards, he went to the Liu family's underground casino, chatted with one of Liu Yuandou's sons, and then checked his bank card balance at an ATM, revealing a satisfied smile.
Afterwards, he went back to eat and take care of the children. When he heard about the case that evening, he immediately rushed to the scene.
After a moment of contemplation, Captain Zou decided to transfer Fang Zhenhong to take charge of the watch factory case. At the same time, he notified Brother Hu to arrange two people to officially begin investigating Fang Zhenhong.
Wu Shirong arrived at the base carrying a cat cage, only to find out that the people had gathered at the Criminal Investigation Department building for a field mission.
Helpless, he had to take another taxi and hurried to the Criminal Investigation Department building.
He had just finished a field mission in another city, so he was allowed to rest today and wasn't considered late. But precisely because of this, Team Leader Zou and the others couldn't possibly wait for him.
By the time he arrived at the forensic science building, the police force had already set off.
Poor Wu Shirong, he missed his target again and had to leave the cat cage in Captain Zou's office before taking a taxi to the scene.
Upstairs behind him, Fang Zhenhong picked up the phone and called Liu Yuandou: "That Qiu Xiaoman is here again, she's everywhere."
Why didn't you go?
"I've been assigned by Captain Zou to handle the watch factory case."
"He suspects you?"
“It doesn’t seem like it. He treats me the same as before. Besides, the criminal investigation team is already short-staffed, and someone has to handle the watch factory case too.”
You should have turned it down.
"I have no reason to turn it down."
"What should we do then? If we find the culprit from last night's incident, my underground casino will be doomed. You need to think of a solution right away."
"I'm thinking about it. I'll let you know when I have some ideas."
"Zhou Wang wasn't involved, was he?"
"I don't know, he's on the list of suspects too."
"Then why are you taking on other cases? Hurry up and go to the scene. If Zhou Wang gets involved, Fang Ting's case won't be able to be kept secret anymore."
"It's too late, unless..."
"No, she's Shen Qinghuai's daughter. I was planning to arrange a marriage between Liu Kun and her. You're not allowed to touch her!"
"That's not up to me. You know your grandson, he's a ruthless killer. Like that guy from Hijikata before..."
"I'll handle it. You hurry to the scene, even if it's just an excuse to ask the watch factory how they're handling the case. Just get there quickly, don't let anything happen to that Xiao Qiu."
At the same time, Zhou Wang furtively found a public phone booth on a secluded street and called Liu Yuandou's eldest grandson, Liu Yao.
"Mr. Liu, when are your men coming to pick up Lao Zhang and me?"
"Don't rush, I'll kill those two dog owners first."
"What do you mean by 'dog owner'?"
"They keep police dogs."
"Oh, okay, sure." Zhou Wang hung up the phone, sneaked into an alley, and after a few twists and turns, entered a large courtyard and soon disappeared from sight.
However, he was unaware that a limping spotted dog was silently following him all the way.
*
At 9 a.m., at an intersection, a police car stopped at a red light.
Police cars are not allowed to run red lights unless it is an emergency, especially since Zou's former partner had an accident while running a red light. Therefore, all three police cars that came out stopped at the east-west intersection and waited quietly for the countdown.
A dump truck drove past on the north-south street, its deep rumble making people's ears uncomfortable.
One car just passed by, then another came, and another, and another.
"When will they start regulating these dump trucks? At least they should prevent them from traveling on the city's main roads," Fang Jiadong said with a look of dissatisfaction.
Qiu Xiaoman had never seen such a huge fleet of dump trucks before. Even after the light turned green, the trucks showed no signs of stopping, so she had no choice but to continue waiting.
Fang Jiadong seemed to have road rage. He impatiently honked his horn and was about to squeeze through when suddenly a dump truck tilted its head and sped towards the intersection.
Almost instinctively, Qiu Xiaoman immediately told Fang Jiadong to get out of the car.
While Fang Jiadong was still in a daze, she had already kicked open the left car door and stepped out with two dogs.
At the same time, the dump truck behind sped onto the green belt, taking a shortcut to intercept them.
The two dump trucks collided at an angle greater than 45 degrees, producing a deafening roar and a screeching sound. Fang Jiadong belatedly came to his senses and scrambled out of the truck.
Unexpectedly, he almost lost his life on his first field trip with Qiu Xiaoman. It seems that this woman is his nemesis.
Without a second thought, he sprinted more than a hundred meters before stopping, panting, and looking at the accident scene.
In the end, the two dump trucks barely managed to stop next to their police car, scratching the front of the vehicle.
If it weren't for the car that came up behind and stopped it, Qiu Xiaoman's car would have been smashed to pieces.
The lingering fear of narrowly escaping death sent a chill down Qiu Xiaoman's spine, a coldness instantly shooting from her tailbone to the top of her head.
She glanced back at the surrounding vehicles; if it wasn't a coincidence, she must be being followed.
Who? Liang Yuting? Or someone else?
Just as I was wondering what was going on, the driver of the dump truck behind us got out.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com