Piranha Plant (12)

At that moment, they smiled with relief. Only the school would record the names of the children here. It would be right to go to the school.

After asking for the address of the school, the two of them immediately rushed there. It was an elementary school located not far from a residential area. It was obvious that it had been renovated and the houses were relatively new. However, no matter how the buildings had changed, the name left here remained unchanged.

When the two of them arrived at the school gate, they realized that the school had already started its winter vacation.

At a loss, "Why don't we go directly to the police station?" Zhao Leiting suggested. The police station would definitely register the real name, but they might not be able to get more information, which would inevitably make the investigation circuitous. However, there was no better way in this case.

Meng Siqi nodded and was about to set off when a man in his fifties came over humming a tune. He was wearing a thick, old down jacket and walking with steady steps. He was holding a bag in his hand and his eyes naturally fell on the two of them. He didn't stop humming the tune but walked towards them.

"Are you looking for someone?" He held a bunch of keys in his other hand, as if he was going to open the school gate, and his tone was a little cautious.

Could this be the school security guard? Zhao Leiting hurriedly said, "You must be the school security comrade. We are from the Public Security Bureau of Jinyang City, Haijiang Province. We are here to learn some information. Look, this is my ID." He deliberately took out his police officer ID and showed it to him closer.

The old man must have some presbyopia, so he picked up his ID card and checked it in front of him, then said with a smile: "So you are a public security comrade, what do you know about the situation? I am the principal here."

Perhaps because of his somewhat unbridled demeanor, neither of them realized that he was the principal. Zhao Leiting smiled and said, "Hello, principal. What is your name?"

The principal saw through their thoughts and said with a smile, "Your surname is Jin. In our area, there are mainly two surnames, Song and Jin, so the people you meet with these two surnames are basically locals. During this holiday, the school is empty, so I brought some food to visit the school." He raised the bag in his hand, "It's not like you in the city. Come on, let's go in and talk."

Principal Jin opened the school gate and welcomed the two people in. The teaching building of this primary school was as plain as a private house. It was not large in area, and the playground was also very small. There was not even half the size of a football field. The ground was all mud. It must have rained recently, and there were many puddles on the ground. The lines drawn by the children while playing hopscotch were also filled with water.

Principal Jin pushed open the door of an office, put the bag on the table, and called the two to sit down. The room was not big, and seemed to be where the principal worked alone. There was an office table, a few wooden chairs, a clay jar, and a cylindrical pottery object that looked like a charcoal stove. There were dots of black charcoal next to the stove.

After greeting the two people, Principal Jin picked up the kettle on the table and filled it with water from the clay jar.

He picked up a coal ball, threw it into the charcoal stove, lit it, and put the kettle on.

Meng Siqi looked around for a while and found that there was quite a lively atmosphere here.

After finishing all this, Principal Jin opened the bag, took out the steamed buns and asked, "Have you eaten yet? How about we eat together?"

The two waved their hands and said, "No, we've already eaten."

It was only eight or nine o'clock, and the two of them had gotten up very early today. Principal Jin opened the glass lid again, picked up some salted beans from the glass jar, and ate them with the steamed buns. While eating, he said, "I'll eat something. You can ask me anything you want."

"No hurry." Meng Siqi smiled, showing a beautiful smile, "Principal, please finish your food first."

"I'm used to this. I usually like to talk to students during meals. It's okay if you have any questions." Although Principal Jin was eating a steamed bun, his speech was still clear.

Meng Siqi took out a notebook from her bag, pulled out a piece of paper, and asked, "Principal, do you know these two people?" She put the note on the table.

Principal Jin picked up the note and looked at it. He seemed unsure, looked at it again and again, and then said slowly, "I have an impression."

This sentence immediately cheered up Meng Siqi and Zhao Leiting. This was the first time they heard about Song Xinran and Jin Yaming when they arrived in Yong'an Town, Yongyuan County.

Principal Jin's eyes lit up with a light that seemed to have been enlightened. "Song Xinran's nickname is Persimmon, and Jin Yaming's nickname is... Skinny Monkey."

Sure enough, he had a nickname, but these two names did not match the two people now at all. Maybe it was because Jin Yaming's nickname was funny. Zhao Leiting pursed his lips and smiled humorously at Meng Siqi.

Jin Yaming now has a relatively outstanding appearance and is tall. Skinny does not suit him, but he might have been the skinny type when he was a child.

As for why Song Xinran was called Persimmon, she was actually quite curious and couldn't help but ask, "Principal, what's the reason for this Persimmon?"

"Oh, I don't know about that. We all had nicknames back then. To be honest, if you ask other people, I really don't remember their nicknames."

Principal Jin seemed to have something else to say, so Meng Siqi quickly picked up a pen and paper and pretended to listen.

When Principal Jin saw her writing, he suddenly became serious and cleared his throat, but his tone was more serious afterwards: "These two children are very pitiful. I taught them when I was not the principal yet. To be honest, there are many children with bad backgrounds. They are...are..."

How miserable is his life? Meng Siqi repeatedly wrote the word "belong" on the paper.

Principal Jin was at a loss for words and said directly: "Persimmon, also known as Song Xinran, lost her father when she was ten years old. She was left alone as a child."

"Principal, can I ask, has Shi Zi always been with her father? Where is her mother?" Meng Siqi asked.

"I didn't explain it clearly. This father is an adoptive father. When Persimmon was very young, her biological father died. A few years ago, Persimmon's mother raised her alone. Later, she remarried to this adoptive father, but not long after, Persimmon's mother also died."

Meng Siqi finally understood why Principal Jin said it was pitiful. She wrote the word "death" several times with just a few simple strokes.

"You said her adoptive father died when she was ten?"

"Yes, I have forgotten what grade she was in that year. Her adoptive father fell down from the front yard. He was drunk that day and probably didn't stand steadily outside the yard. He fell down and hit his head on a rock. His brains came out."

Principal Jin had been eating his steamed bun, but when he described this passage, he choked obviously.

There was a gurgling sound in the house, the lid of the iron kettle jumped with a click, and the kettle was boiling. Principal Jin stood up, poured hot water, took out two cups, and poured a cup of hot tea for Meng Siqi and Zhao Leiting.

The weather was cold now, and a cup of hot tea in her hands instantly warmed up her palms. As the heat was transferred, she felt warmth all the way to her feet.

While holding the glass, Meng Siqi was thinking about what the principal had just said. Song Xinran's adoptive father fell to death in front of the yard after getting drunk. This seemed quite unexpected.

She also remembered that the foundations of the houses in the residential area here were high and low, and every family would build a yard, which was like an extension of their own house. Some yards were high and some were low. The high yards were as high as two people, and people would usually be fine if they jumped down. But if they were drunk and made mistakes, and landed head first, there was a high probability that something would happen.

"Later, did Persimmon continue to study?" she asked.

"Shizi's family has relatives, so he relied on his relatives to help pay for his tuition. The village and school also helped."

"She has been living with her relatives ever since?"

"I don't know."

"What about Jin Yaming, aka Skinny Monkey?"

"Skinny Monkey." Principal Jin raised his head slightly and looked at the ceiling. He seemed to think for a moment before saying, "They have similar fates. Skinny Monkey's father is also an alcoholic. He has a bad temper and always beats his mother. Skinny Monkey suffers as well."

"The brain of that skinny monkey mother..." Principal Jin pointed at his own forehead, "It's not very good, a little stupid."

Meng Siqi had already imagined a family with domestic violence, where the father drank and beat the mother. Perhaps due to her low IQ, the mother could only endure the beating from her father. At that time, Shouhou was young and thin, so he could only watch his mother suffer from domestic violence. Perhaps he wanted to rescue his mother, so he was also beaten by his father.

She couldn't help asking, "What happened next?"

"Later, the skinny dad went to the mountains to chop wood. He was probably taking a break or taking a piss when he stuck his machete into a tree. Unfortunately, the machete fell off and chopped off half of his head."

Meng Siqi swallowed, this story sounded so sad. Zhao Leiting licked his lips and looked at her. He must be feeling the same as her.

"The mother and daughter depended on each other for survival and moved out when Shouhou was in high school," Principal Jin added.

"I want to ask a question. Do you remember the order in which Persimmon's adoptive father and Skinny Monkey's father died?"

"I don't remember clearly, but they were in the fourth or fifth grade, about ten years old. I think they died in the same year."

"When did Persimmon leave here?"

"I remember when we were in junior high school in town, both of us were very successful and were admitted to a key high school in the county. After that, both families moved away and never came back." Principal Jin took a bite of salted food and sighed meaningfully, "It's not easy for either of us."

"By the way," Principal Jin finished eating the buns and thought of something, "Did they commit any crime?"

Meng Siqi and Zhao Leiting exchanged glances, and she decided to tell the truth: "To be honest, Jin Yaming may be suspected of a murder case, but it is still in the evidence collection stage, and we are here to understand the situation."

Principal Jin's expression was slightly dull for a moment, but soon he showed an indifferent look, "What a pity."

"Do you know anything else?" Meng Siqi asked, "What were the things about these two people that were different from other people when they were young?"

"Yes, there is one thing I remember. When Persimmon was little, she was very pretty and all the boys liked her. When Shouhou was little, he was skinny and was always bullied by others. They don't seem to be the same kind of people, but they actually have a good relationship in private."

Meng Siqi asked hurriedly: "What do you mean by a good relationship?"

"Once I saw with my own eyes that Shi Zi pushed a boy down the stairs. He fell badly at that time. I looked for Shi Zi later and she said that it was an accident. It is difficult to determine whether she did it on purpose or not. Later I could only observe her in private, but fortunately nothing happened again. I actually had my own thoughts on this matter. The injured boy was quite domineering and the teacher could not discipline him despite repeated warnings. Skinny Monkey was bullied the worst by him, so I thought that Shi Zi should be standing up for Skinny Monkey. The two of them seemed to have no intersection, but I happened to see them running up the hill hand in hand on my way home, and ran to a place where there was no one..."

Meng Siqi seemed to have realized something, but it still needed to be verified. Principal Jin told them everything he remembered, and the two thanked him again and again. Zhao Leiting asked for Principal Jin's phone number, saying that he would call him if he had anything to do. Principal Jin said that he would often visit the school during the day.

"I want to go for a walk in the town again." Meng Siqi said to Zhao Leiting after walking out of the school gate.

Zhao Lei Ting nodded. "Okay, Siqi, I've been listening for a long time, and I always feel that they are attracted to each other because of their similar destinies."

Meng Siqi doesn't believe that people are attracted to each other because of similar destinies. Just like the example of Teng Fei and Liu Yuwei, to outsiders, they seem to care more about each other's feelings because they are both orphans, so their flash marriage and flash love become very natural. In fact, that is just a misunderstanding of others.

As they walked, the two returned to the residential area in the town. There were two questions that Meng Siqi wanted to know. The first was where was Jin Yaming's mother, who might have intellectual disabilities? The second was what was the relationship between Song Xinran and her adoptive father? The second point in particular might help her understand the special relationship between Song Xinran and Jin Yaming.

During the visit, many people didn't remember Persimmon and Skinny Monkey. Maybe it's been too long, or maybe the people who knew them have left or passed away. The town has undergone transformation and change and is very different from what it was a decade ago.

When she was at a loss, Zhao Leiting asked a hunched old man in the yard: "Do you know Song Jinzhang?"

"What chapter?" The old man sat in the chair, stretching his ears as if listening carefully.

"Song Jinzhang has a daughter named Shizi." Zhao Leiting leaned over and asked in his ear.

The old man seemed to have heard it clearly. His originally haggard face gradually drooped. He shook his head, and a trace of contempt and hatred appeared in his cloudy eyes. He said forcefully: "It's a beast!"