Chapter 60 Snacks
Xia Mushige continued to give orders.
"Sun Xianbing, you are responsible for connecting with the police station comrades and completing the record-taking work."
"yes!"
"Yu Jing, go back to the brigade to get the tools. We need to take photos on the spot."
"yes!"
Yue Yuan was about to open his mouth to speak, but Xia Mufan unexpectedly began to command him: "Captain Yue, please go with Forensic Doctor Gu to take samples of the three dishes and one soup on the table, as well as the cat and dog food, and send them back for testing."
The first time his subordinates assigned him a task, Yue Yuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Gu Shaoqi pushed him and said, "Bring some food bags."
Yue Yuan had no choice but to accept his fate and looked at Ke Lu who was standing beside him.
Ke Lu was able to read people's expressions and brought five food bags. Just as he was about to start, he was stopped by Gu Shaoqi: "Don't move, I'll do it."
Gu Shaoqi asked for disposable plastic gloves, took samples one by one, and finally picked up the white paper box on the table.
The cardboard box is very light to the touch and looks like a shoe box. It has no lid and is approximately 30*20*10cm in size.
Gu Shaoqi grabbed a handful of brown particles from the paper box.
Although Gu Shaoqi wore disposable gloves, rat poison is highly toxic after all, so Xia Mufan said, "Be careful."
Gu Shaoqi glanced at her and nodded: "Well, I will speed up the testing process."
After all the sampling was completed, Gu Shaoqi put the bowls, chopsticks, plates, and paper boxes back in place, making sure that no fingerprints or traces were damaged at the scene, and then left with Yue Yuan.
Ke Lu watched Yue Yuan leave, then walked over to Xia Mufan: "That..."
Xia Mufan raised his eyes: "My last name is Xia."
Ke Lu smiled: "Hello, Officer Xia."
Ke Lu smiled, revealing his snow-white teeth. He looked as bright as the sun and very friendly, which made Xia Mufan take a second look. I found that he had smooth black hair and scattered bangs on his forehead, a bit like a familiar Hong Kong singer. Xia Mufan had no artistic talent, was tone-deaf, and was not a fan of celebrities. However, he could not resist the fact that one of his college roommates was particularly obsessed with this singer and often played his tapes in the dormitory. As a result, Xia Mufan also got to know this singer.
Ke Lu noticed that Xia Mufan's eyes were different and asked, "Officer Xia, do you want to take more photos to keep a record?"
He even knew to take photos to leave a trace? Xia Mushige pulled his mind back from his college days and quickly got into work mode: "Which part are you responsible for?"
Ke Lu: "First floor lobby."
Xia Mufan's eyes were sharp: "Then why do you care about the things on the third floor?"
Ke Lu answered fluently: "Something happened on the first floor, and our general manager happened to be away today. I called to ask for instructions, and he thought my suggestion was good, so he temporarily let me be responsible for the emergency handling of this matter."
Xia Mufan understood.
The hotel's general manager was away, or perhaps he felt the situation was tricky, so he asked Ke Lu, the lobby manager, to do emergency public relations. No wonder he kept following up.
Thinking of how Ke Lu first blocked the scene and prevented customers from leaving, and now asked if he needed to take photos to keep a record, Xia Mufan looked at him with a hint of scrutiny in his eyes: "What do you think?"
Ke Lu said, "I think this matter must be handled with caution, at least to get rid of the negative comments from customers about the restaurant. After all, so many customers saw it with their own eyes, and if it was reported as food poisoning, it would definitely affect our business. So when I reported to the manager, I emphasized this point, and made sure to keep all the customers and wait for the police to come, and do whatever they say."
Xia Mushige said, "Hmm," "How did you know to take a photo?"
Ke Lu's smile became brighter. "To be honest, I'm a detective fan. I love watching police-themed novels and TV shows. I'm familiar with these procedures."
Xia Mushige asked: "Did anyone move the scene?"
Ke Lu said calmly: "Me. And He Lixia, the waitress in charge of this area."
Xia Mufan looked up at his expression with a piercing gaze, which put a little pressure on Ke Lu. He quickly explained, "When the man fell to the ground, the guests at tables A11 and B12 saw him and called the waiter. He Lixia ran over to check, patted his shoulder, and wanted to help him up. But at that time he was foaming at the mouth and twitching all over. He looked very scary. He Lixia was a little scared, so she called me. I was in the kitchen at the time. When I heard what she said, I ran over immediately and touched his back and head. I thought it was epilepsy at first, so I called 120 immediately. Later, when I saw that he was not breathing, I was afraid that he was poisoned, so I called 110 again and reported to the manager."
After clearing up his doubts, Xia Mufan pointed at Sun Xianbing and said, "Go to him and take a statement. Repeat what you just said. Then, cooperate with him to comfort the customer."
Ke Lu said "OK" and walked over to Sun Xianbing to take notes, and then cooperated with Feng Xiaoyu to deal with customers.
The poisoned man had been taken away by the ambulance. None of the customers at the scene felt any stomach discomfort, so food poisoning from the restaurant could basically be ruled out. When they heard the police say they could leave, they were eager to leave, leaving their contact information.
Ke Lu apologized and presented the guests with small gifts from the hotel. The customers' annoyance was soothed and they left the hotel with smiles on their faces, all their dissatisfaction gone.
The five tables of guests who were left behind were being questioned by Sun Xianbing, Yu Jing and three police officers.
"Did you notice anything unusual at the next table?"
"Has anyone come into contact with that man?"
"Have you ever noticed the cardboard box on the table?"
Hearing the police's questions, the diners answered in a flurry, slowly revealing the process of the man's poisoning.
"He sat there for a long time and didn't see his food come after he ordered it. There are many people in Qingming, and there are still many people waiting for a table outside. The waiter came over to urge him several times."
"He was looking at his pager the whole time, and he didn't look well."
"My wife looked at him a few times and said he was a weird guy, even bringing a shoe box with him when he ate."
"Oh, by the way, after he looked at the pager for the last time, he took a big bite of rice, then reached into the shoe box with his left hand, took out something, and stuffed a handful of it into his mouth. Then, he started to have convulsions. It was terrifying."
"Except for the waiter, no one seemed to talk to him."
“Taking orders, urging food to be served, and serving food are all done by waiters.”
"He sat at the side, and it seemed that few people would pass by his table."
"When he was convulsing and foaming at the mouth, the waiter called the manager over, and the manager was the one who handled the situation afterwards."
From what we know so far, the customers at the next table did not have any major problems, and the waiter and Manager Ke had more contact with the man.
The waiter who takes orders, urges the food to be served, and places the tableware is in charge of table A12. Her name is He Fengxia, she is 23 years old, pretty and fluent. She recalled the guest at A12 and mentioned that he had a strange expression and would take off the pager hanging on his waist from time to time to check it, but she was very busy and did not notice him eating cat and dog food.
The waitress who served the food was named Qiao Rui, she was 19 years old and had just started working. She was a little scared when she saw the police, so she pinched the corner of her clothes and spoke as softly as a mosquito. She said she was only responsible for taking the dishes from the kitchen and serving them according to the table numbers. She didn't pay attention to who was at each table and had no impression of A12 at all.
Xia Mushige asked, "Did you stop while delivering the food? Did you meet anyone?"
Qiao Rui shook her head repeatedly: "No, no."
Seeing her evasive gaze, Xia Mufan continued to ask, "Really? Think about it carefully."
Qiao Rui shook her head again, shrinking her neck, her eyes a little red.
Xia Mufan stared into her eyes: "What are you afraid of?"
Qiao Rui was so frightened that tears welled up in her eyes: "I, I didn't... I didn't make any mistakes."
Xia Mufan saw that he really couldn't get anything out of him, so he just gave up. Girls who have just come from the countryside are unfamiliar with the environment, are hesitant in doing things, and are always afraid of being criticized. Such behavior is understandable.
Yu Jing rushed back and finished taking photos on the spot.
Fingerprints were taken from all cutlery, shoe boxes, tabletops and chairs.
The footprints around the obese man were so complicated and disordered that it was impossible to conduct a footprint examination.
Based on his memory, Xia Mufan drew a chalk outline of the man's body at the place where he fell and took a photo to record it.
After completing all the on-site inspections and inquiries, it was almost 11 o'clock in the evening.
The restaurant has closed and all the customers have left, leaving only the waiters cleaning up the tables, chairs, dishes and mopping the floor.
Xia Mufan let out a long sigh and felt his throat dry.
A cup of chrysanthemum tea appeared before my eyes.
A beautiful glass cup with light yellow tea soup and a golden chrysanthemum blooming inside.
Xia Mufan raised his head and met Ke Lu's smiling face: "Officer Xia, you have worked hard. Have a cup of tea."
Xia Mufan didn't hesitate to take it and drank half the cup in one breath.
The tea moisturizes the throat and the dry feeling is immediately relieved.
Looking at Ke Lu handing chrysanthemum tea to Gong Weiguo and others, Xia Mufan's impression of him improved a lot. This person looked only a few years older than himself, but he was considerate, polite and enthusiastic in his dealings with others. After all, he was a person working in the service industry.
Ke Lu could tell that Xia Mufan was the leader of this group of people. After pouring tea for everyone, he asked her with a smile, "Officer Xia, this case should have no impact on our hotel, right?"
Xia Mushige said: "Let's wait for the test results tomorrow. If the food is fine, then it's fine. However, we may come to investigate again, so please cooperate."
Ke Lu breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "Okay, you're welcome anytime."
Xia Mufan drank the chrysanthemum tea in his hand, put down the cup and looked at his teammates: "Let's call it a day."
Gong Weiguo turned his aching neck and said, "Ah, I can finally go home."
Feng Xiaoyu bent down and pounded her legs: "I'm tired of standing."
Sun Xianbing's fingers ached from taking notes. He shook his hands and said with a wry smile, "I'm afraid the total number of words I wrote today is more than 10,000!"
Xia Mufan said goodbye to Ke Lu and walked out of the glass revolving door of Qingming Hotel with everyone.
The night wind blows, bringing cool breezes.
This is a natural cool breeze that is different from the air conditioning in the hotel, and it feels extremely comfortable when blowing on your body.
Looking at the starry night sky, Xia Mufan sighed: "Alas, another ghost who died unjustly."
Sun Xianbing asked: "Wasn't he taken away by the ambulance? Maybe he can be saved?"
Xia Mufan: "Didn't you see that Forensic Doctor Gu shook his head?"
When Gong Weiguo heard this, he immediately responded: "That's it."
Feng Xiaoyu also added: "We are all afraid that forensic doctor Gu will shake his head. If he shakes his head, it means it is another homicide case."
Yu Jing and Sun Xianbing felt a little hurt: "Why didn't we know?"
They both looked at Xia Mufan: "Why do you know?" After all, Gong Weiguo and Feng Xiaoyu had been with forensic doctor Gu for several years, so it was understandable that they knew these things. But Xia Mufan clearly joined the Criminal Investigation Brigade with them, so why did she know forensic doctor Gu's habits so well?
Xia Mufan glanced at them and said, "Pay attention and observe."
After hearing this, Gong Weiguo and Feng Xiaoyu laughed at the same time.
Sun Xianbing gritted his teeth and said, "I think Forensic Doctor Gu treats you differently. Look, he even got you a house!"
As soon as the house was mentioned, Xia Mufan was immediately touched. She took out the key from her pocket and looked at it again and again with great satisfaction: "I also think that Forensic Doctor Gu is very good to me. I am very grateful. It's too late today. I will take my mother to check out the house tomorrow morning."
Yu Jing patted Sun Xianbing on the shoulder and said, "Don't be jealous. It was Xiao Xia who made a great contribution to this case of Forensic Doctor Gu."
Thinking of Xia Mufan's rigorous reasoning and amazing observation skills, Sun Xianbing admired him from the bottom of his heart and rolled his eyes at Yu Jing: "Who is jealous? I mean that Forensic Doctor Gu treats Xiao Xia well."
Xia Mufan shook the key in his hand and said, "I helped him solve the case, so shouldn't he be nice to me?"
Feng Xiaoyu saw that she really had no idea about love, and couldn't help but laugh: "Yes, yes, whatever Xia Xia said is right. What time are you going to see the house tomorrow? I'll go with you."
The five of them slowly walked towards the parking lot.
Ke Lu's voice came from behind: "Officer Xia, please wait a moment."
Everyone stopped and turned to look at Ke Lu who was jogging towards them.
Ke Lu handed a beautifully packaged bag to Xia Mufan: "Officer Xia, you have worked so hard tonight. Here are some snacks made by our restaurant. I'll give them to you to try."
Hearing that it was food, Xia Mushige reached out to take the bag: "Thanks."
Ke Lu looked at her reluctantly, hesitated for a moment, and finally mustered up the courage to ask: "Can I go to the Criminal Investigation Brigade to find you?"
Xia Mufan felt a little puzzled: "What do you want me for?" She had made it very clear just now that she would notify the hotel when the test results came out tomorrow. If an investigation was needed, she would naturally bring people to their door, and there would be no need for Ke Lu to go to the Criminal Investigation Brigade.
Ke Lu said softly: "I admire you police officers, so... I want to make friends with you."
The night was a little dark, and I couldn't see Ke Lu's face clearly. I just felt that his slightly round eyes looked a bit like coal ash. When he asked to be adopted, he looked so pitiful.
Xia Mufan replied, "The Criminal Investigation Team won't let you in." Then he left with his teammates.
Ke Lu was left standing there, the night wind blowing up his bangs, revealing a shallow cross-shaped dent on his forehead.
After getting in the car, Xia Mufan opened the box of snacks.
The aroma of milk, butter, and sugar mixed together, and the whole carriage was filled with a sweet smell.
There are six small boxes in the big box. Each palm-sized box has a beautiful fruit pattern printed on it. Some are pineapples, some are cherries, some are apples, and some are oranges...
Feng Xiaoyu came over to take a look and exclaimed, "Oh, it's a fruit crisp."
Xia Mufan gave everyone one: "That's right, one for each person, and I'll leave the remaining one for my mom."
The aroma of the snacks was so strong that everyone, who had been busy all night, felt hungry and started stuffing the snacks into their mouths. For a moment, there was no other sound in the car, only the sound of chewing.
Snap...
Click, click, click…
Sun Xianbing ate the fastest. He wiped the snack crumbs from his mouth and was the first to speak: "Manager Ke is so thoughtful. He even sent us snacks."
Feng Xiaoyu burst out laughing when she heard this, and spat out a mouthful of snack residue: "You are so stupid, he has taken a fancy to our Xia Xia."
What?
Without waiting for Xia Mufan to express his opinion, Sun Xianbing's eyes widened: "What a courageous dog!"
There are so many attractive single young men in the Criminal Investigation Team, how could a hotel manager get the chance to pursue them?
Xia Mufan glanced at Feng Xiaoyu and said, "You think too much."
Feng Xiaoyu grinned, "Really, Xia Xia, this guy must have taken a fancy to you and wanted to pursue you. Didn't you see that he was staring at you the whole time? He even chased you out after you left and said he wanted to be friends with you? You know what, I admire his vision. Most people would be a little scared when they heard that we were police officers, but he dared to approach us on his own initiative the first time he met us."
Xia Mufan seemed to be thinking about something.
No wonder I felt his eyes were like coal ash, it turned out he had a crush on me.
It’s just that adopting a cat is easy, but adopting a man is too troublesome.
Coal Gray has a wild temperament and his own social circle. He wanders around during the day and returns home at night. Usually, all he needs to do is feed him some dried fish and prepare a cotton mat as a cat bed.
Men...
Think about the mother. She not only has to take care of the man’s emotions and needs, but also has to do housework, give birth to children, and maybe even serve her parents-in-law. It’s too much trouble.
Now that she has a house, what does she need a man for?
Thinking of this, Xia Mufan shook his head: "I only have coal ash, it's too much trouble to raise another one."
As soon as these words were spoken, the car body shook and suddenly stalled.
Everyone looked at Yu Jing who was driving.
Yu Jing was still eating a snack when he was startled by Xia Mufan's words. He almost choked and burst into a violent coughing sound that shook the earth.
Gong Weiguo, who was sitting in the passenger seat, patted Yu Jing's back desperately, laughing as he did so: "Why are you so panicking!"
After finally coming to his senses, Yu Jing started the car and continued driving forward without saying a word.
Gong Weiguo laughed wildly: "Xiao Xia, you really are! In ancient times, men supported the family. Nowadays, men and women are equal. How can it be a man's turn for you to support him?"
Feng Xiaoyu couldn't help laughing, pursing her lips and laughing: "Xia Xia, your thoughts...Haha! Men are not cats or dogs, how can they be compared with coal ash?"
Xia Mufan muttered, "What's the use of men?"
The one who poisoned Wang Lixia was her beloved husband Zhou Yaowen;
When his mother disappeared, it was his father, Xia Manyin, who wanted to immediately cancel her account and find someone better.
Lu Chengji has a wife and children, and he wants to take Shen Yitong for himself.
…
The more cases Xia Mufan came into contact with, the less she wanted to get married, and even less to be involved with a man.
What's more, Ke Lu was just a stranger whom he had only met once.
Sun Xianbing touched the back of his head and said, "Xiao Xia, don't knock down a group of people with one stick."
Gong Weiguo echoed, "Yes, I am not a man? Aren't Xiao Sun, Dayu Gu, and Captain Yue the same?"
Xia Mufan waved his hand: "You are colleagues, friends, and teammates, that's different. What I'm saying is that those men who want to beg me to adopt them are useless, worse than coal ash."
The first time Feng Xiaoyu heard the words "ask me to adopt you", the more she thought about it, the funnier it got. She laughed so hard that she couldn't breathe: "Oh, I can't do it anymore. I can't do it anymore."
In Xia Mufan's view, a man's pursuit = seeking adoption.
Everyone silently mourned for all of Xia Mufan's suitors.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
