"Police?" Yang Ji suddenly beca a bit nervous, having lived in the village his whole life, he had never had the police co looking for him.
Bai Ye imdiately soothed his emotions: "We are just ordered to investigate so toys. You have been making these toys all your life. Do you rember who you gave them to?"
Yang Ji said, "I have a handmade account book, it’s in the second compartnt of the black drawer, but I can no longer see now."
Su Tianqing went to fetch the account book and looked through it, he couldn’t help but admire the old master. Not only had he recorded the nas, although he didn’t have a cara to record, he had hand-drawn the toys to preserve them until now.
"Grandpa, do you rember, ten years ago, a sixteen-year-old girl, did she ever buy a toy from you?" Su Tianqing asked while flipping through the book.
"No." Yang Ji nodded with certainty.
Su Tianqing asked again, "Are you really sure?"
"What do you an, young man? I’m sure I rember." Yang Ji said, "If I weren’t blind, I could redraw every toy I designed back then."
Bai Ye imdiately stepped forward to play peacemaker: "Grandpa Yang, we didn’t an that, my brother just wants to confirm it again, to help us in our investigation. You know, it’s our duty."
Yang Ji was not pleased with Su Tianqing’s attitude, but he let it go.
Su Tianqing said to Bai Ye: "Looking through these things will take so ti, we should head out first!"
Bai Ye nodded and then bid farewell to Yang Ji, "Grandpa Yang, if you rember anyone who bought so special toys back then, please have soone notify us."
"Alright, no problem." Yang Ji, feeling for the armrest, stood up to see them off.
On the way back, it was Bai Ye riding the motorcycle.
Su Tianqing patted Bai Ye’s shoulder, "Let’s go, we should find David first."
"Find him? Isn’t he also your rival in love?" Bai Ye couldn’t help but tease him.
Su Tianqing glared at him: "A dog’s mouth can’t spit out ivory! Qiao Xiaoyan roughly sketched a possible weapon, if we assu it’s a toy, we can let David draw a rough image of it. Of course, it would be best if Grandpa Yang could draw it, but he’s blind and can’t draw..."
Bai Ye agreed but continued to tease: "Su, they say a pri minister can steer a boat in his belly, and you too, not bad, not bad..."
...
The small village, at the village chief’s house.
When Gan Zi arrived, the village chief looked grave. The village chief’s lips trembled continuously, and he couldn’t even speak fluently.
"Gan... Gan... Professor..." the village chief looked at him.
Gan Zi walked in, his wrist draped with a suit jacket, wearing a pristine white shirt, his figure upright and trim.
"Village chief, I have sothing to discuss with you!" Gan Zi felt that this matter must be clarified. The wound of losing a loved one for ten years needed closure.
At this mont, the village chief already had tears streaming down his face, "Professor Gan, is it about sothing happening to my daughter? I saw Miss Qiao taking her things away, and I saw you guys checking Chen Hui’s belongings for so DNA test..."
Gan Zi often felt that he had a specialized field of study, and had achieved great successes in a certain area.
Yet, he had still overlooked sothing important, that is the emotions of a human being.
The village chief hadn’t received higher education, but the emotional connection and recognition he had for his daughter ant that deep down, he already knew sothing.
Gan Zi lit up a cigarette, "I ca here today, specifically to tell you in person, she’s no longer with us..."
"Where is she?" The village chief nearly stumbled as he rushed over, a man in his fifties who suddenly seed incredibly frail.
Gan Zi took a deep drag, "A few days ago at the Quarry, a withered and decayed female corpse was found. After forensic and legal examination, it was determined to be your daughter! Only, she had been murdered ten years ago..."
Upon hearing this, the village chief’s wife fainted!
"My wife..." The village chief was streaming with tears as well, the most heartbreaking sorrow in this world is for parents to outlive their children.
Gan Zi smoked in silence, with his wealth of knowledge he still didn’t know what to say to comfort this kind couple.
The village chief quickly took care of his wife, then, still managing his emotions, said to Gan Zi: "Professor Gan, I beg you, you must find the murderer, my daughter, ten years ago, she was only sixteen..."
At the pri of youth, yet t with a tragic end, what parents could withstand such an outco?
"I will do my utmost." Gan Zi spoke, and then he asked, "May I walk around the room freely to look for clues?"
"Of course." The village chief nodded emphatically.
Gan Zi still had his suit jacket slung over his arm, first he went into the girl’s room, then he noticed a bunk bed, so toys ant for boys to play with, of course, it could also be said that so girls like boys’ toys as well.
After looking around, Gan Zi ca out and entered the village chief’s bedroom, where he saw a photo of four people: the village chief, his wife, their murdered daughter, and a boy who looked two or three years older than the little girl.
"This boy is..." Gan Zi pointed at the little boy in the photo.
"That’s my son, he’s two years older than my daughter." The village chief wiped his tears and said, "He seldom cos ho. That photo is old, but he often sends money to and his mother, hoping we don’t overwork ourselves. He says, once he’s saved up so money, he will definitely go find his sister..."
In the eyes of the parents, this boy was sensible, hardworking, and deeply valued family ties, but he rarely ca back ho.
Gan Zi looked around so more, finding no traces from ten years ago, he then prepared to leave.
Seeing he was about to leave, the village chief stepped forward and said: "Professor Gan, I’m not well-educated and can’t say much to express my gratitude, but I still want to thank you, you must help us find our daughter’s killer!"
Gan Zi looked at his crisscrossed wrinkles like an old tree and his eyes red from crying, he nodded: "Okay! However, I would like to ask a few questions, I hope you can answer them truthfully. First, did your daughter have a boyfriend?"
"No!" The village chief shook his head, "She had high standards. After finishing junior high at sixteen, she didn’t pass the exams for high school in the city, so she wanted to try her luck elsewhere. She had very good grades in school, the principal often praised her..."
Gan Zi nodded: "Were there any boys who adored her? Or showed any liking towards her?"
"I’m not too clear on that; I could ask her mother..." The village chief then went into the inner room and after a while, he ca back and also said no. "There’s none, Professor Gan, are you suspecting that soone killed her because their love was unrequited... Such a person truly deserves to be cut to pieces..."
"Village chief, I’m just asking relevant questions, I haven’t concluded anything yet, don’t rush." Gan Zi said, "I’m preparing to head back to the town, if you think of anything, rember to co tell imdiately."
Although his heart felt weighed down by a stone, the case of Chen Chen was like a massive boulder, if they followed the wrong direction again this ti...
As Gan Zi walked through the small village, he hardly encountered anyone around the ages of twenty to forty; they were all out of town working, creating glory for the big cities while they themselves were just specks of dust.
Most people left in the village were children and elderly, also known as the so called "left-behind" children and seniors.
Gan Zi had once investigated a case in this village, and most people there nearly recognized him.
Many elderly people looked at him with admiration and saluted him with the utmost respect. The children, still unaware of the gravity, just watched from a distance, playing and frolicking.
Gan Zi got into the police car and then headed back to the small town.
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