Ning Zhiheng nodded and then asked, "Have you seen her on other occasions?"
Another woman spoke up: "We all fled to Chongqing with our families. The husbands work outside to support the family, while we stay at home to take care of the children and do housework. We never go anywhere else. At most, we go for a walk in the streets below the dam. We can't go anywhere else, so we've never seen any other places."
Clearly, these women's activities were limited to the vicinity. Ning Zhiheng knew he had asked the wrong person, so he continued, "What kind of transportation does this Miss Zhang use? Is it a car? Does she have someone picking her up or dropping her off?"
A woman replied, "It's a rickshaw. She always goes out in a rickshaw. We usually wait for her at the intersection below. When we go shopping or strolling around, we often see a rickshaw waiting for her below."
Ning Zhiheng's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked, "Are there rickshaws waiting for her at the intersection down below?"
“Yes! The terrain in Chongqing is very strange. Sometimes I can’t tell if we’re in the city or the countryside. We’re on a high ground. If we want to go shopping on the streets below, there are stone steps all the way up. Rickshaws can’t get up there. She always walks to the intersection below and then takes a rickshaw to leave. We do the same.”
"Yes, if it weren't for the fact that there are people everywhere and it's not easy to rent a place in Chongqing, I would never want to live here..."
The women gradually grew bolder and began to talk amongst themselves.
Ning Zhiheng quickly waved to stop them and asked again, "You just said that there's always a rickshaw waiting for her downstairs, right?"
A woman said, "That's right! It's always the same rickshaw driver. Once I wanted to take a ride, but he refused, saying he had chartered the rickshaw for his master and was afraid of delaying his master's business. That driver is dull-witted and doesn't even know how to earn extra money!"
Ning Zhiheng immediately remembered that when he came up from the intersection, there were rickshaw pullers waiting for customers. He quickly turned to Yu Cheng and ordered, "Go to the intersection and grab all the waiting rickshaw pullers. See if this person is there."
Yu Cheng immediately ran out and led his men to the intersection below. Before long, Yu Cheng returned with two rickshaw pullers and reported to Ning Zhiheng, "These are the two. They are waiting for business at the intersection."
Ning Zhiheng turned to ask the women, but they all shook their heads and denied it, saying that neither of the two drivers was the one Zhang Fangfang had hired.
Now it seems that the rickshaw driver is likely to be the problem. Since Zhang Fangwen hired the rickshaw, and Zhang Fangwen didn't go out today, he should have been waiting for his client at the intersection. But Zhang Fangwen suddenly left today, and the rickshaw driver also disappeared. This is definitely not a coincidence.
Furthermore, even if the rickshaw driver and Zhang Fangwen are not accomplices, finding the rickshaw driver can help ascertain Zhang Fangwen's usual whereabouts, where she works, and who she usually associates with. This information is very valuable for finding Zhang Fangwen.
Ning Zhiheng waved the women away before turning to look at the two rickshaw pullers. Both were middle-aged men in their thirties or forties, with dark faces. Although they weren't very old, their faces were full of wrinkles. They weren't particularly burly, but the muscles in their bare arms and calves were strong and powerful. They were wearing straw sandals.
The two rickshaw pullers also looked at Ning Zhiheng nervously, wondering why he had been brought here.
Ning Zhiheng smiled slightly and said kindly, "Do you usually wait for business at this intersection?"
One rickshaw driver replied, "Not necessarily, but I mostly work in this area."
Ning Zhiheng knew that rickshaw pullers usually had their own territories, and they would form gangs and occupy their own areas. Outsiders were not allowed to pick up passengers in other people's territories.
Back in Nanjing, Liu Yong's rickshaw company occupied a lot of territory thanks to Liu Datong's influence. Only rickshaw pullers from his company could pick up passengers or goods in the area. The same should apply to Chongqing.
These two rickshaw pullers must have been regulars in this area, so the rickshaw puller who specifically pulled Zhang Fangwen's rickshaw must have been the same person. Otherwise, he wouldn't have lingered at this intersection for so long, or a conflict would have already broken out.
Ning Zhiheng turned to Yu Cheng and instructed, "Photos."
Yu Cheng quickly handed over a photograph of Fan Bailu, or rather Zhang Fangwen. Ning Zhiheng took it, held it up in front of the two rickshaw pullers, and asked, "Do you recognize this woman?"
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