Chapter 31
Chen Pu investigated for a whole day, but there was still no progress on Ding Guoqiang's side. There are no new clues about the car, the man, and Sun Dazhi from Jiangcheng.
Ding Guoqiang led several groups of people to investigate day and night. The old detective was as calm as if he was driving an old Soviet tank. Chen Pu was there to investigate the victim, so he couldn't relax on his side. It's like the two sides of a sphere, Chen Pu walked on that side, and he walked on this side. He believed that in the end, the master and the apprentice would meet, oh yes, and the apprentice's follower Li Yatou would also be included.
However, Ding Guoqiang's path means a lot of repetitive basic work. That vegetable wholesale market is super big, with roads extending in all directions. There are many small roads without surveillance cameras, but there are also many cameras installed. In this complicated map, can the suspect really avoid all the obvious and hidden cameras perfectly? Ding Guoqiang found it extremely difficult, almost impossible. Therefore, they have to check the massive number of cameras in and around the vegetable market.
Secondly, although it is not clear now, when the van was stolen and how it ended up in the hands of the suspect. But the suspect must have driven this car in the city some time ago. He must have driven the car from somewhere and hidden it in the vegetable market, which made it absolutely impossible for him to avoid road surveillance. This period of time may be a few days or more than ten days. But Ding Guoqiang estimated that it would not be too long, otherwise he would face the risk of losing his car in a place as mixed as the vegetable market. Therefore, Ding Guoqiang had to find the van through the surveillance cameras in Manxiang City. However, as long as the first picture is available, the suspect's lair can be found by following the van's route and the surveillance footage.
Although the task is heavy, Ding Guoqiang is confident that everything is just a matter of time. Be it ten days or twenty days, no matter what the progress is on Chen Pu's side, he will definitely be able to solve the case.
——
The next morning, Chen Pu and Li Qingyao met downstairs at 7:30 sharp, planning to continue their investigation after having breakfast.
Chen Pu, in black clothes and black pants, stood under a big tree, looking at Li Qingyao, in a green T-shirt, jeans and white sneakers, walking towards him. He suddenly noticed that Li Qingyao had a very cold expression even when he was walking. Even though she clearly saw him across from her, she would not show any joy or polite smile, but would just look at him calmly and continue walking her own way.
In TV dramas, the scene where a girl jumps with joy and throws herself into a man's arms is probably never going to happen to Li Qingyao in this lifetime.
Even if she was dressed like a fresh and soft lotus today, she was definitely a ruthless flower with sharp petals and iron branches.
Chen Pu was amused by his own thoughts. Li Qingyao came over and asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Chen Pu said: "You still don't remember that I am your superior?"
Li Qingyao: "Does this have anything to do with you standing downstairs of my house and laughing stupidly so early in the morning?"
However, Chen Pu was no longer bothered by attacks of this level. On the contrary, he had a feeling that his sister seemed to be more lively and talkative around him recently. So he felt better and asked, "Would you like to eat noodles?"
"I want to eat xiaolongbao today."
Because they both had noodles a few days ago, Chen Pu thought that she had a similar taste to him, and he quietly topped up a huge amount of money, one thousand, when he checked out yesterday. Hearing this, he didn't say anything and nodded: "Okay."
Not far away, there is a Hangzhou Xiaolongbao restaurant. It is still early and there is only one table of customers in the restaurant. The two sat down next to the fan, and Chen Pu asked, "What do you want to eat?"
Li Qingyao: "A basket of steamed buns and a bowl of kelp soup. I'll pay for it today."
Chen Pu smiled and said, "Okay, there are only 8 buns in a basket, is that enough?"
Li Qingyao rolled his eyes at him and said, "Enough! I can never finish it every time."
Chen Pu ordered two baskets of steamed buns and a bowl of kelp soup for himself. It was served quickly. Chen Pu took two small plates from the small basket on the table, poured chili and vinegar on them, and placed a plate in front of Li Qingyao. Li Qingyao was still playing with his phone. He took two pairs of chopsticks, opened one of them, sharpened the burrs, put it on her kelp soup bowl, and said, "Eat it."
Li Qingyao then noticed his service, picked up the chopsticks, and said, "I didn't realize you were so good at serving people."
Chen Pu picked up a bun and said, "Then we need to score."
Li Qingyao took a bite of the bun into his mouth and chewed it slowly without saying a word. Chen Pu thought of something else, he looked up at her, his heart softened, and he finally said it out loud: "Before..." He smiled, "It was Li Jincheng who did these things. He is more careful than me, and I learned from him."
Li Qingyao said: "My brother doesn't like eating steamed buns, he likes to eat..."
"Steamed dumplings." said Chen Pu.
Li Qingyao smiled.
Chen Pu added: "He also made dumplings for me before. The stuffing was really good. We can finish 100 dumplings in two days."
Li Qingyao: "Damn it, he has never made it for me. My mom always makes it at home and he waits for me to eat it."
Chen Pu smiled even more widely. He could imagine that his brother, who was usually diligent and virtuous, was also like a big kid waiting for food and drink at home.
There was a question that Li Qingyao had wanted to ask for a long time but had never opened his mouth. Or perhaps deep down in his heart he had never dared to ask it. But now, she suddenly felt she could ask.
"You've been investigating for so long, what do you think was the most likely thing that happened to my brother that night?"
The smile on Chen Pu's face disappeared. He put down his chopsticks, sat up straight, and said, "I think there are two possibilities: First, he found key evidence that can overturn the existing conclusion of the Luo Huaizheng case, and was killed or controlled by the real murderer, and then disappeared. Second, I have always felt that his disappearance is not necessarily related to the Luo Huaizheng case. After dinner on the day he disappeared, he was walking in a street stall in Chaoyang Home, which does not look like he found key evidence."
Li Qingyao smiled bitterly: "My mother said that Chinese medicine believes that 'movement generates yang', and walking after a meal can also lower blood sugar."
Chen Pu also smiled faintly and said, "He used to always take me with him. Sometimes we would walk for more than ten kilometers along the river. I digress. That night, he also bought a box of hazelnut chocolates at a convenience store and a doll at a street stall."
"I like hazelnut chocolate. My mom said he was supposed to go home that weekend."
Chen Pu nodded. "As for the doll, you've also read the files. The police found the old man who was selling the doll. The old man said that Li Jincheng didn't want to buy it at first, but when he saw the old man with a little girl and kept shouting at him, he felt sorry for him, so he turned back and bought one, and asked him to take the child home early. So, he should have been wandering around at the beginning of that night."
Li Qingyao thought to himself that this was what his brother would do. Once before, the brother and sister were shopping and it was raining. They met an old lady who had two or three bunches of vegetables in her basket that she had not sold all. The brother was so kind that he wanted to buy them all. As a result, the old woman rolled her eyes and asked for 50 yuan for the dishes, which was twice as expensive as buying them from the supermarket. Li Qingyao was so angry that he pulled his brother away.
That doll was probably also intended for her. "So the second possibility is that Li Jincheng accidentally encountered another case that was happening in Chaoyang Home that night, at least a murder case. In order to stop the other party, he was killed or controlled by someone. And this case is still unknown to the public and has nothing to do with Li Jincheng. That's why the police can't find any clues."
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