soldiers in front

The Daqing Hardware Store was on the side of the road, next to a simple car wash.Less than ten kilometers away from the construction site.

Ji Zheng walked into the store, looked around, and saw an old man over [-] years old sitting behind the counter watching TV in the middle of the two rows of shelves in the depths of the store. Seven seven eight eight, the old man's field of vision is only a small area in front of him.

The door is facing the counter, so it is difficult to see the door from the perspective of the elderly.

The old TV series Wulong Mountain Suppressing Bandits is currently playing. The old man is a little deaf. The volume of the TV is turned up very loudly. The gunshots and human voices like cannonballs spread in the small shop, piercing the ears like scratches. .

Ji Zheng knocked hard on the counter and said, "Master."

The old man lowered his head slightly, his reading glasses slipped down the bridge of his nose, he opened his eyes wide and looked at Ji Zheng, and said loudly, "Who is it?"

Ji Zheng said: "Like you ask someone."

The old man ignored him and continued watching TV.

Ji Zheng could only go around to him, took out his mobile phone and found the photo of Cao Wu he took just now, and put it in front of the old man: "Do you have any impression of this man?"

The old man is old and his ears are not good. Ji Zheng thought he would say he couldn’t remember clearly, but the old man squinted his eyes and stared at the phone screen for a while, and said: “I’ve been here a few times, I remember. It’s that... the one who lives in front Wu Guofu's son-in-law, is his surname Cao?"

Ji Zheng nodded and asked again: "When was the last time he came?"

The old man turned his eyes and looked at the ceiling for a while, then said: "I haven't come for some days, but he came once in April when it rained heavily. He bought a wrench and sat for a while before leaving."

"What time?"

The old man took out an account book from the drawer and threw it to Ji Zheng: "It was the days when it rained heavily in April, you can read it yourself."

Every time the store sells goods, the old man keeps a detailed account, down to a certain moment.

Ji Zheng turned to April 4th. Business was not good that day. He only sold two barrels of glass water in the morning, followed by a pair of wrenches at 15:5 pm.

The time was right, the goods were right, and what the old man said was exactly the same as what Cao Wu said.

It seems that Cao Wu really had nothing to do with the car accident.

Ji Zheng left the hardware store and received a call from Lawyer Pang as soon as he got back to the car.

Lawyer Pang said that he was already on the way and asked him where he was.

Ji Zheng looked around and said, "I'm already here, waiting for you in front of the vegetable market."

At this time, Fuzhou County was very underdeveloped. A road that was only for cars to travel alone was winding and full of potholes. Small vendors and pedestrians who put their stalls on the side of the road crowded half of the street. Ji Zheng parked his car in front of the vegetable market. In an open corner, sitting in the car waiting for Luan Yunfeng's lawyer.

Ten minutes later, an Escalade squeezed out from the crowd and parked next to his car, followed by a man of medium build and wearing a formal suit.

Ji Zheng got out of the car and walked towards him, stretched out his hand and smiled, "Lawyer Pang?"

"Yes, yes, you are Doctor Ji Zhengji, right?"

Ji Zheng nodded and said, "I'm causing you trouble."

"No, then let's go."

Haiqiang Dry Goods Store is divided into two rooms, inside and outside. The outside room is full of shelves, and the inside is a small house with only a simple stove and an iron frame bed.

Ji Zheng followed Lawyer Pang into the room. The air in the room was dim, and the small windows did not let in much sunlight. There was a complex and unpleasant smell in the air that was similar to the smell of food after overnight.

Luan Yunfeng, who was dressed in black, sat on the edge of the bed with her head bowed and weeping. She had disheveled hair and a thin body. She looked like an old woman who had been widowed for many years in her 40s.

Lawyer Pang moved a stool and sat across from her and had a few words with her, euphemistically mentioning the fees she owed to the law firm.

Ji Zheng looked around in the room, and on the low table beside the bed, he saw the judgment issued by the Intermediate Court a week ago, and the red leather ledger with the legal fees owed to the law firm.

Luan Yunfeng took out a bank card from under the bed, stroked the card several times with her fingers, and handed it to Lawyer Pang with tears in her eyes. When she raised her eyes, she saw Ji Zheng.

"Why are you here again?"

She still remembers Ji Zheng.

Ji Zheng sat on a low stool opposite her, and said truthfully: "I want to talk to you about your husband's case."

Luan Yunfeng looked at him and asked, "Who are you? A policeman? A reporter?"

Attorney Pang was about to excuse Ji Zheng when he heard Luan Yunfeng laugh miserably and said, "Forget it, I don't care if you are a reporter looking for news or not, those policemen have already forgotten my husband, as long as there are still people who remember me Husband will do."

As she spoke, she wiped away the tears on her face vigorously, "If you want to ask anything, just ask."

Ji Zheng turned on the recording function of the phone and said: "I need you to recall the whole process of the car accident at that time, and no details can be missed."

Luan Yunfeng drank a few sips of water, breathed a sigh of relief, with thick sadness and desolation on his face, and said angrily: "At 4 o'clock in the morning on April 15th, Haiqiang and I went to deliver goods to a restaurant in the city. The restaurant is going to hold a wedding banquet, which is a big deal. Hai Qiang and I set off from the store to the restaurant early and distribute the goods according to the chef's order. There are a few dried vegetables on the list that we don't have in the store, so we went to several vegetable markets It was only ready, and then it was delivered to the restaurant. At that time, there were not many people in the back kitchen. Seeing that they were too busy, Hai Qiang helped them move the goods. Originally, we could come back in the morning, but we kept tossing until three or four in the afternoon After coming out of the restaurant, we found a restaurant and had some food before heading home. Hai Qiang originally wanted to take me to buy clothes, but it rained in the past two days, and I was worried that the road would be more difficult at night, so I urged Hai Qiang Qiang is back, now that I think about it, it’s better to go shopping in the street and come back a little later, then I won’t——I won’t—”

As Luan Yunfeng spoke, weeping uncontrollably, she clutched her chest and wailed silently, as if she would faint at any moment.

Ji Zheng pushed the water glass down in front of her without dissuading her, and waited for her to vent for a while.

Luan Yunfeng gradually stopped crying, covered her face with her outstretched fingers, and never put them down, and then said: "It was almost 5 o'clock when we left for home. I was busy all morning and fell asleep. Haiqiang asked me to sleep After a while, I fell asleep in the car. I fell asleep until Haiqiang hit someone, the car shook, and my head hit the window. I just woke up when I hit my head. Passed by, only heard a car honking outside."

Luan Yunfeng's shoulders trembled slightly, and he choked up and said, "That's not our car. Our car's horn doesn't sound that loud. It must be a big truck. Hai Qiang must have had a car accident with someone else, so he accidentally bumped into it." Lei Honggen, there was definitely a second car when the accident happened!"

The second car she mentioned was most likely Cao Wu's truck parked at the intersection, but he had already investigated, and Cao Wu had nothing to do with the accident.

Luan Yunfeng said with certainty that there was a second car at the scene of the accident, but she didn't see it, she just heard the horn of the car.At this time, Ji Zheng analyzed every word of Luan Yunfeng according to his own profession. He suspected that Luan Yunfeng's memory was in confusion, or that she was unwilling to accept the reality, so he magnified the information in her memory, hoping to erase the guilt for her kind-hearted husband. , is not impossible.

"You were sleeping before the car accident?"

Ji Zheng asked.

Luan Yunfeng put down her hands, showing her skinny cheeks washed by tears, and nodded weakly.

"You didn't hear anything but the horn?"

listen?

Luan Yunfeng's stiff eyes moved slightly, she turned to look at Ji Zheng and said, "I fell asleep not long ago, and I seem to hear Hai Qiang calling in the car."

"Who are you calling?"

Luan Yunfeng shook her head thoughtfully, and said, "I didn't hear clearly, I just heard him say 'Let's go back now'."

I'll go back...

Ji Zheng quickly flashed back to the two one-way streets separated by the isolation barrier on Provincial Highway 718, and the scene of Lei Honggen lying dead on the road from west to east...

He seems to have grasped some doubts, but he thinks that the clues he has obtained are too few to form.

"Who is your husband calling? Where is he going home? What was said on the phone?"

Faced with Ji Zheng's continuous questions, Luan Yunfeng felt nervous for no reason, rubbed her hands together, and said, "I, I, I, I really didn't hear clearly—"

Ji Zheng reminded her gently: "Is your husband's cell phone still there?"

Luan Yunfeng was taken aback for a moment, and immediately jumped up: "Yes, yes!"

She pulled out a mahogany box with broken corners from the cabinet, which contained Gong Haiqiang's belongings.

Ji Zheng saw that she took out a Changhong mobile phone from under a green fleece jacket. The mobile phone still had power, and it turned on smoothly.

Luan Yunfeng sat back and handed the phone to Ji Zheng, "Look around to see if there is any record. My eyes hurt and I can't see clearly."

Ji Zheng found the call records, and immediately saw that the last call was 'Master Liu of Futian Restaurant'.

"Who is this guy?"

Ji Zheng pointed to the note and asked Luan Yunfeng.

Luan Yunfeng said: "It's the restaurant we supply. Master Liu is the chef of the restaurant. We will deliver to this restaurant on April 4th."

Ji Zheng clicked on the record and found that Master Liu and Gong Haiqiang had a call at 5:53, and the call lasted 2 minutes.

Ji Zheng broadcast Master Liu's phone number, pressed the speakerphone and put it on the table.

It took a long time to answer the bell, and a man cautiously and hesitantly said 'Hello? ' with a sound.

Ji Zheng gave Luan Yunfeng a look, and Luan Yunfeng cleared his throat and said, "Master Liu, I am Luan Yunfeng."

Master Liu said "Hi" and said, "Xiao Luan, I thought it was haunted, what's the matter?"

Luan Yunfeng glanced at Ji Zheng, made up an identity for him, and said, "The police want to talk to you."

"Police? What do the police want me for? I can—"

Before he finished speaking, Ji Zheng interrupted him and said, "Master Liu?"

Master Liu choked, and said, "Yes, yes."

Ji Zheng said: "Did you call the deceased Gong Haiqiang at 4:15 on April 5th?"

"There is this. What's the matter, Comrade Police?"

"Don't be nervous, I just want to understand what you all said."

"I didn't say anything. The bags of cashew nuts that the couple sent have spoiled. I can't use them. I'll tell Dahai and let him come back and take care of it."

Luan Yunfeng looked at the phone angrily, and said in a low voice: "He has always been like this. The goods we send are all the best, so he bullies Haiqiang to be honest and deducts our money for faults!"

Master Liu heard it, and said, "Big sister, if you say that, don't say it—"

Ji Zheng picked up the phone and put it next to his ear, and said, "Let's talk about business, Master Liu."

Master Liu's attitude suddenly became arrogant: "There is nothing to say, there is something wrong with their goods, I will ask the surname Gong to come back and give me an explanation, it's as simple as that."

"What did Gong Haiqiang say?"

"What can I say, come back and exchange the goods for me."

Ji Zhengdao: "Speak clearly, speak carefully, and repeat what Gong Haiqiang said to you verbatim."

Master Liu's anger faded in an instant, and he said, "I said the cashew nuts were moldy, and told him to come back quickly. He said that he had just passed the old bridge hole and turned around at the intersection ahead, so let me wait for a while."

Old bridge hole, U-turn...

There is an intersection less than ten kilometers away from Laoqiaodong, where you can make a U-turn. In addition to the impact of the heavy rain that day, Gong Haiqiang’s speed should not be 40 mph, so it will take him about 10 minutes to drive from Laoqiaodong to the intersection to turn around.

And the car accident happened at 6:3...

"Hello? Comrade policeman, are you all right?"

Ji Zheng hung up the phone directly, put down the phone, put his elbows on the table, clasped his hands against his chin, and fell into deep thought.

rainy day...

Gong Haiqiang who answered the phone in the car...

The old bridge hole where corpses are hidden under the slope of Provincial Highway 718...

The intersection ten kilometers away...

A one-way street from west to east...

The old man lying dead on the road...

There is also the most important clue-turn around.

Did Gong Haiqiang really turn around?If he turns around after 10 minutes as agreed with Master Liu on the phone, the whole car accident will be rewritten.

But now no one can prove whether Gong Haiqiang really turned around——

He was in deep thought when his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the ringtone of his mobile phone.

The call was from Xiao Jiang, and he connected: "What's the matter?"

Xiao Jiang said: "Doctor Ji, something happened to Police Officer Min!"