Chapter 58 Questioning

Is there any news about Mr. Gu’s granddaughter?

At this time?

Lin Qiao's first reaction was not joy. Instead, he looked up and looked directly into Ji Duo's eyes.

It’s not that she doesn’t want Mr. Gu to find someone, but it’s hard not to think too much at this time.

It's only been half a month since Gu's nephew came to make trouble. One step they arrested the man and sent him back to his hometown, and now there's news about Shaozhen?

Lin Qiao saw that Ji Duo was also looking down at him, with a deep look in his eyes, which obviously did not show happiness.

But after meeting her eyes, his eyes darkened slightly, and he whispered to her quickly and concisely, "The man was found by the local police three days ago and has been sent here. I'm going there now. Some things may be more convenient with you. Do you have time?"

"Then get in the car."

Lin Qiao didn't say a word of nonsense. Her words were so crisp and clear that Ji Duo's eyes unconsciously fell on her back for two seconds.

But in just two seconds, the man strode forward and opened the car door for Lin Qiao before she could.

No matter what you suspect, you have to meet the person first. What if it is true? A one in ten thousand chance is still possible.

The car did not drive to the hospital where Mr. Gu was staying, but stopped in front of a small and exquisite courtyard near where they had invited Su Zheng to dinner last time.

"This is Su Zheng's home. He has been living here for the past two years because he was annoyed by his family's pressure to get married." Ji Duo explained to Lin Qiao in a low voice and went forward to knock on the door.

Soon Su Zheng came over and opened the door. He was not surprised to see Lin Qiao. He walked in while explaining to the two people in a low voice: "I'm afraid that it would irritate Mr. Gu again, so he intercepted the person halfway and sent him here first." It was obvious that he had the same concern as the two people.

"What did you find out?" Ji Duo asked in a deep voice.

"I haven't asked yet." I didn't expect Su Zheng to say, "I haven't said a word to her yet."

This surprised Ji Duo a little, and he couldn't help but stop and look at him.

"You don't need to look at me. You wouldn't be able to ask anything if it were you. Her situation..." Su Zheng obviously didn't know how to describe it. "Forget it, go in and see for yourself."

Su Zheng's courtyard was not big, with three main rooms, and the one in the east was obviously the one he usually lived in. The visitor was placed in an empty room in the west. There was a chair outside the door, and a young man with a dark face and short stature, also wearing a uniform, sat on it. He must have sent the other party here to recognize his relatives.

When he saw several people coming in, he stood up and greeted them, speaking Mandarin with a strong southern accent.

A few people found it a bit difficult to hear, but they didn't show it. They exchanged a few sentences and the other party knocked on the door and spoke in dialect.

I really didn't understand what the other party said. After he finished speaking, he waited for a while before opening the door.

Fortunately, he had already informed them in advance and given some time to prepare.

Once it was opened, the woman inside visibly shuddered.

Lin Qiao only took a glance and knew why Su Zheng hadn't spoken a word to the other party yet.

The woman in the room looked like a frightened bird. The room was not small, but she was curled up in a chair that she had made extra wide. She was ragged and had messy hair. Only her overly pointed chin could be seen. She would hug herself and tremble at the slightest sound.

This was definitely not a normal person's reaction. Ji Duo just glanced at her and closed the door. He took two steps forward and asked in a low voice, "Has she been abused?"

Su Zheng nodded, "She was beaten by her husband. The reason we were able to find her there was because we happened to see her running to report the case, saying that her husband beat her."

"How could she be so scared? Has she never reported the case before?" Ji Duo pointed out the loophole in this with great sharpness.

The comrade who sent the person here rubbed his nose and said, "I don't know either. She is under the jurisdiction of the police station below. This is the first time she has come to our Public Security Bureau."

But if he doesn't know anything about it, why would he touch his nose?

Either there is something fishy about his statement, and he knew that the other party had asked the police station for help, and he had even asked them for help before.

Or he knew very well how such matters were generally handled, which was nothing more than calling the man over for some ideological education, and then going back to give him a beating or a scolding.

Not to mention that this was in the 1980s, even forty years later, things like domestic violence might not be properly handled.

Not to mention that their place is remote. The other party said that she was from Yandu and was abducted when her grandfather was sent down, which made them think of Gu Lao. If they didn't contact Gu Lao and simply said that she was abducted, it's hard to say whether they would care. This kind of news has been seen before.

Ji Duo's face was a little gloomy, and Lin Qiao's face was even colder, "Did she eat dinner tonight?"

"They've eaten it." The comrade who brought the person in said, "I just brought it in. It wasn't touched when I brought it in. I checked and it was already finished."

That means the stress response is too severe and the vigilance is too strong. Being able to eat is better than completely resisting the outside world.

There was no time to rush, so the three of them simply took the comrade to Su Zheng's room and asked him in detail about what had happened.

The woman who was sent here was called Chen Zhaonan. She was not a local. She came here from another place when she was in her teens. Because she had no children, she was often beaten and scolded by her husband and mother-in-law.

This time she ran out with injuries all over her body, and ran dozens of miles straight to the county public security bureau. She didn't mention the beating, and just asked for grandpa to save her. "She said her last name was Gu, and her name was Shaozhen, and she used to be from Yandu. We found that she matched and looked alike, so we sent her here."

"Do they look alike?" Ji Duo asked Su Zheng who was sitting next to him.

It was obvious that so many people had never come to Su Zheng's little house. There were not enough chairs, so he went to the warehouse and moved two Yandu benches over.

Hearing this, he gave a bitter smile, "Since she came, I haven't even seen her face, how can I know what she looks like?"

This is a bit difficult. If they don't talk and can't see each other's faces, how can they confirm whether it is true or not? They can't just wait like this forever, right?

The person who sent the person here was also a little embarrassed. "We didn't do anything to her. She was just like this on the road. Anyone who got close to her would be scared."

After a moment of silence, Lin Qiao stood up and said, "I'll go ask her. I'm a lesbian, so she might be less defensive."

Unexpectedly, Ji Duo also stood up immediately. Lin Qiao thought he was going to follow him, "Forget it. You will scare people even more if you go."

This was the truth. Not to mention that he was in military uniform and had a stern face, Su Zheng was smiling, and that police uniform did not bring any sense of security to the other party.

Ji Duo accompanied her all the way out of Su Zheng's room, and then he lowered his voice and said, "I'm at the door, please be careful."

Is this because she is afraid that the other party will have an extreme reaction and hurt her?

When he accompanied her back to her hometown before, this man would take care of her, but recently, he seemed to be taking care of her more and more meticulously.

Lin Qiao nodded, thought about asking Su Zheng if he had any unused towels, and brought a basin of hot water and soap into the house.

Feeling someone coming in, the other party was obviously nervous, but Lin Qiao didn't care. She put the basin on the table next to him and stepped back a few steps to a distance that made the other party feel safe. "It's quite a long way here, you should wash your face. The towel is new and no one has used it."

Her voice was soft and soothing, but she stood by the wall and showed no intention of leaving.

Chen Zhaonan, let's just call him Chen Zhaonan for now. After waiting for a while, when she didn't leave, he couldn't help but raise his head slightly to secretly look at her.

To be honest, he was so thin that only his two big eyes were left, and one of them had a noticeable black spot. He was like a timid snail that only stretched out one tentacle and then quickly retracted it.

Lin Qiao acted as if she didn't know. "It should be warmer there than in Yandu, right? I see you're wearing someone else's coat. When I get back, I'll find you two thicker clothes." He added, "If you're still cold, I'll ask someone to light a stove for you. This is how Yandu is in the winter, freezing cold. I don't know if you can handle it."

He talked a lot, but because his tone was soft and the conversation was all casual, Chen Zhaonan's body was noticeably less tense.

The police's questioning method is obviously inappropriate for such a frightened person, and it is also inappropriate for someone who may be taking care of his grandchildren.

Lin Qiao noticed her body's signal and asked, "Do you want to wash your face first? The water will be cold soon."

The other party was obviously tense again, so Lin Qiao stopped asking and continued chatting with him about trivial matters that he would not answer.

After a while, the warm water turned cold. Lin Qiao didn't rush and went to get it herself, "I'll get you a hot basin."

This time the woman raised her head, glanced at her quickly, and then looked down again, with a hint of uneasiness in her eyes.

Lin Qiao saw it but pretended not to see it. He picked up the basin, closed the door and walked out of the room, but Ji Duo immediately reached out and took it from him.

The man didn't say anything. He pointed to the chair by the door and motioned for her to sit down. He took the basin and emptied it, then picked up Su Zheng's thermos, only to find that there was no water in it.

Su Zheng was also waiting outside, and when he saw this, he quickly took the kettle to heat it. Lin Qiao was used to standing on the podium, so she wasn't tired at all, but she still sat down on the chair.

Ten minutes later, the water was boiled. Ji Duo poured out some cool water and handed it to Lin Qiao. Lin Qiao stood up, took it, and went back into the west room.

This time when someone came in, Chen Zhaonan didn't react as much as before. When Lin Qiao put the basin of water on the table, she moved her toes nervously.

This obviously didn't make him feel comfortable bothering others, so Lin Qiao said softly, "Wash your face."

Chen Zhaonan's fingers were almost twisted into a knot, and she was obviously very entangled, but in the end, she still retracted her hands and feet and stood up.

There was a very light sound of water splashing in the room, and it seemed that if it was a little louder, it would scare someone.

Lin Qiao continued to talk in a random manner, letting the other party get used to her voice. In the process, she pushed the soap box over to him. The other party hesitated for a moment, then picked it up and used it.

Her face was washed clean. She was a pretty young girl, but her skin was a little dark and yellow, and there were several bruises on her face.

Lin Qiao was stunned for a moment. He felt that there was something familiar about this face, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Seeing that she wiped her face with a towel and said thank you very softly, she picked up the basin and said, "I'll get you a comb."

The other party moved her lips, as if to say no, Lin Qiao just smiled, "It's okay, such a beautiful girl should be decent."

I don’t know what touched the other party with these words, but Chen Zhaonan’s eyes turned red, and he quickly lowered his head for fear that she would see it.

Lin Qiao then left the room, handed the basin to Ji Duo, and asked Su Zheng in a low voice, "Do you have a photo of Shaozhen at home?"

Su Zheng had guessed that she had made some progress, and nodded, "Yes, I'll go back to the house and get it for you."

Ji Duo had just finished pouring the water. He paused when he heard this, put the enamel basin on the washstand, took the photo that Su Zheng was holding and took a look at it, "Your photo won't do."

"Why not?" Su Zheng was stunned for a moment before he responded, "This one is a little small, I can't see the face clearly."

"Find another young man who is alone." Ji Duo turned the photo over calmly and glanced at Lin Qiao with his peripheral vision.

Lin Qiao didn't pay attention to this, his eyes were following Su Zheng to find something, so he felt relieved and held the photo tighter.

Ji Duo said this was not okay, of course not because the photo was small and Gu Shaozhen's face could not be seen clearly. But because the photo not only showed Shaozhen, but also him and Ji Ze.

That was the old man's demotion

They took a photo together before. The two siblings from the Gu family, his uncle and nephew Ji Ze, and several brothers and sisters from the Su family stood in two rows. Ji Ze was about seven or eight years old at the time, and looked about the same age as in the photo that the family gave to Lin Qiao. If Lin Qiao saw this, he would immediately reveal his shame.

"If you really can't find it, just look at the one just now." Lin Qiao suddenly turned around and looked at him.

Ji Duo's heart tightened, but he didn't show it on his face. He asked the comrade who sent the people, "You didn't bring photos this time?"

After he reminded him, the comrade finally responded, "Yes, I brought it. We also checked it carefully before sending it here."

What he brought were not printouts, but photos that he had requested. In order to find the person, Mr. Gu had developed hundreds of photos in one go.

Lin Qiao took it and looked at it, and the sense of familiarity came to her mind again. The little girl in the black and white photo had two braided pigtails and big eyes, and she looked like someone she had seen somewhere.

"Do they look alike?" Su Zheng asked her in a low voice.

"A bit similar." Lin Qiao nodded and pointed at the eyes and mouth in the photo. "These two places are more similar, the rest is hard to tell."

The comrade who sent the person also said: "He looks too young in the photo. He must have grown up a lot in the past ten years."

This is true. Girls change a lot when they grow up. Apart from a pair of pheasant eyes and a small mole at the end of her eye, Lin Qiao's appearance is very different from when she was a child.

"Why don't you ask again?" Su Zheng looked at Lin Qiao.

No one expected that they had one military officer and two police officers here, but they were useless and had to rely on Lin Qiao to go in and question them.

Ji Duo also looked at Lin Qiao, with a negotiating look in his eyes, and Lin Qiao nodded, "Okay, I'll think of a way to get some more information out of you."

Then he asked the two people, "Is there anything that only you know and outsiders don't know? I can also make a judgment."

While Su Zheng was still thinking, Ji Duo leaned over to Lin Qiao's ear and whispered, "Su Zheng was twelve years old and still wet the bed when he slept in Gu's hometown."

This old cadre actually seriously exposed the shortcomings of his childhood.

Su Zheng was close by and vaguely heard some of the words. He immediately emphasized, "It wasn't the bed wetting. I was drinking water on the bed and accidentally spilled it."

Ji Duo just looked at him with an expression that said, "If you insist on saying that, there's nothing I can do."

This made Su Zheng very angry, but he and Lin Qiao were not a couple, so he couldn't get close to talk. He could only call Lin Qiao aside and said, "I want to tell you something too." Just as he was about to open his mouth, he felt something. He turned around and saw Ji Duo looking at him quietly not far away. The words that were about to come out of his mouth were inexplicably stuck.

Lin Qiao saw that this guy was at the bottom of the food chain among his childhood friends, and couldn't help but laugh: "You tell me, I won't tell him."

"That won't work. This kid has very good hearing." Su Zheng thought about it and simply went to the yard with Lin Qiao.

When the two came back, Lin Qiao's eyes looking at Ji Duo had become meaningful, and the smile on Su Zheng's face was also obviously malicious.

Ji Duo's expression froze for a moment, and he asked Lin Qiao, "What did you say?"

"Nothing." Lin Qiao just smiled and asked Su Zheng who came back with her, "Do you have a comb at home? Let me use it."

"Yes, yes." Su Zheng found it and showed it to her. He watched her go into the west room. He turned around and found Ji Duo looking at him again.

The man slowly put the photo in his hand back into his drawer without saying anything, but his aura was unnerving. Su Zheng could only surrender, "I really didn't say anything to your wife."

Ji Duo still didn't say anything. He glanced at him indifferently, gave a cigarette to the comrade who brought the person, and stood back at the door of the west room.

Inside, Lin Qiao had already placed the wooden comb on the table next to Chen Zhaonan and sat down on the other side. "Comb your hair. I also got a mirror."

This time she was closer. Although the other party was not very comfortable, he did not shrink back nervously. Lin Qiao introduced herself first. "My name is Lin Qiao. I am the lover of Ji Duo, who was in military uniform just now. I should be younger than you..." She hesitated for a moment, "I should be younger than you, right?"

"I, I was born in 1959." Chen Zhaonan spoke in a low voice with his head lowered, but he finally spoke.

This can be compared with Gu Shaozhen. Lin Qiao smiled and said, "They are older than me. Actually, you don't need to be nervous. Even if you don't remember them, you should recognize their uniforms."

She poured herself a glass of water and spoke in a relaxed manner, "The reason why I brought you here first instead of letting you see Mr. Gu is mainly because the old man is old and not in good health. We have to confirm it for him first, so as to prevent him from having emotional ups and downs and being stimulated. Can you understand this?"

Chen Zhaonan nodded hesitantly without saying anything, nor did he immediately ask about Mr. Gu's condition.

If she was too anxious, Lin Qiao would become suspicious. After all, they hadn't seen each other for more than ten years, and she was a child back then. Who knew how much she still remembered about Mr. Gu?

Lin Qiao poured a glass of water for him as well. "Do you still remember what happened before? My love, and..."

"Brother Su Zheng?" the other person replied in a low voice. She had already combed her hair, but the comb was still in her hand, and she was embarrassed to untie the dry and yellow hair tangled on it.

The names matched, and Lin Qiao nodded, "What about the others? And your family, what do you remember? Tell me about it."

Chen Zhaonan was silent for a moment, as if thinking, and then asked in a low voice: "Where is my brother?"

Lin Qiao didn't say anything.

Seeing this, the other party hesitated again, "I...should there be a brother? I remember there is a brother."

"This..." Lin Qiao paused as he looked at her, as if he didn't know how to start.

The other party became nervous again and even started to scratch her hair, "I remember there was a brother? Did I remember it wrong again?" In a few seconds, the hair that had just been combed was messed up again.

Seeing that she was not in a good state, Lin Qiao hurried to comfort her, "Don't worry, we will think about it slowly, there is no rush."

Probably having heard the noise inside, someone knocked on the door twice.

"It's okay." Lin Qiao said loudly, and continued to comfort the other party, "Let's think about it slowly, don't worry."

Another half an hour passed before she came out of the west room. "You must be tired after all this trouble. You should take a rest first."

"How is it?" Su Zheng asked hurriedly in a low voice.

Lin Qiao waved her hand, motioning him to go inside first. After closing the door, she said, "I didn't find out much. She said she had a head injury and she can't remember some things clearly."

"Did she have a head injury?" Ji Duo raised his eyebrows, his eyes revealing no emotion.

"Yes, I was injured." Lin Qiao nodded and reached out to touch a spot in his hair on his forehead. "About here, there is a scar about an inch long, and it's quite old."

This is difficult to do. Shaozhen doesn't have any birthmarks to identify her, so we can only rely on asking about her childhood.

Ji Duo lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, "Then where did she live before she got married? She must have some impression, right?"

Su Zheng also thought of it and looked at Lin Qiao inquiringly, "Where did she marry from? Did you ask?"

"I asked." Lin Qiao mentioned a place name, "She said she grew up in this place. At first her parents were okay with her, but later when she had a younger brother, they sold her. I don't know the exact two words. She spoke in dialect and she couldn't read."

Children of this age are still illiterate, so they must be from remote rural or mountainous areas, and their families tend to favor boys over girls.

However, since they are recruiting boys, it is certain that they favor boys over girls. Su Zheng repeated those two words to Lin Qiao twice and went out to ask the comrade who sent the person over.

In the end, the other party didn't know either, but based on Chen Zhaonan's accent, he gave a rough estimate, "Why don't you ask her in-laws, they might know."

The other party ran away to hide from her in-laws' family. Some things are really not so easy to get involved in, otherwise it will be difficult to get rid of them in the future.

"Let's investigate further. This matter has happened many years ago. There is no rush." ​​Su Zheng could only say this as there was really no further progress.

In fact, the fastest and most accurate way to confirm whether Chen Zhaonan is Gu Shaozhen is to do a paternity test between her and Gu Lao. However, the first paternity test abroad was in 1985, and in China it was even later, in 1991. It is only 1980 now, let alone whether anyone knows about this, it is hard to say whether it exists.

Lin Qiao didn't say anything. Seeing that it was getting late, Su Zheng glanced at her and Ji Duo and said, "Are you two going to just stay here with me, or..."

"Let's go back." Ji Duo also glanced at Lin Qiao beside him, stood up and said goodbye, "Call me if you have anything."

Su Zheng's place is not big to begin with, and there is a comrade who is here to send someone. Although he and Lin Qiao are both on leave tomorrow, there is still a small

It's really inconvenient.

"Then I won't send you two off."

"Um."

Ji Duo was not prepared to let him see him off, so he went out and got into the car with Lin Qiao. He suddenly said to Lin Qiao, "Let's install a phone at home, too."

In fact, Lin Qiao had also thought about this. After all, it was not easy to bother Brigade Commander Liang's family. Sometimes, Liu Cuiying would come to call them late at night.

The reason why she never mentioned it was that she didn't know to what extent this man planned to expand his business before quitting his job and officially going into business.

What if after the installation is completed, he is no longer in the army, wouldn't it be a waste of time?

But this happened quite often in their family, and since the man had mentioned it, Lin Qiao had no objection, "Then let's install one, so we don't have to borrow from the next door all the time."

They still have a good relationship with the Liang family. Some people who don't get along well with their neighbors, like Sun Xiuzhi, might even fight. Who would care about your business...

Thinking of this, Lin Qiao suddenly had an idea, "I know why I think Gu Lao is so kind!"