Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 672 Clues

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, I'll be right there. Thanks, Director Lu."

After hanging up the phone, Xiaowei said, "It must be the store where I bought water earlier. They said someone paged Shi Jing there."

Xiao Liu pulled out his notebook and said, "The last few pager calls to Shi Jing were all from the same number, and the number I've noted is a public phone. Could it be this one?"

Xiao Wei accelerated and said, "Let's go ask. That would be best, it would save us trouble."

The two of them went straight to the convenience store, got out of the car, and walked over.

The boss was standing at the door talking to a few people when he saw Xiaowei and Xiaoliu get out of the car. He said, "I remembered you just a little while after you left. I think someone called that pager number here. It's a pretty good number. He called it several times. I have a vague memory of it, but I don't know if it's accurate."

Xiao Liu asked, "Is 2236**52 your phone number?"

The shopkeeper said, "Yes, that's my number. It's written right here on the phone." He pointed to the public phone. Back then, public phone numbers were written on paper and taped to the phone for easy paging.

Xiao Liu asked, "Can you remember who made the pager call? We just checked, and your phone has called this number more than forty times in the past three months, sometimes more than ten times a day."

The boss scratched his chin with the hand holding the cigarette and said, "I can't remember right now. Lots of people make and use the phone every day, who can remember this stuff every single day? It's only because your pager number is a bit unusual that I vaguely remember it—all 5s, it's easy to pronounce."

Xiao Liu said to Xiao Wei, "If I were looking for you, it would be much easier to find you. I can remember your pager number after just one call."

Xiao Wei laughed and said, "Chen Hui's is easier to remember, it's five twos."

The convenience store owner said, "Everyone uses cell phones these days. You still need a pager for this car? Take out your good number and sell it. I'll help you sell it; it's worth quite a bit. Five twos, a good one can fetch over ten thousand."

91 was the year of the boom in paging services, which became widespread and good numbers began to be sought after.

Xiao Wei said, "Mobile phones are too expensive, and the signal isn't good either. Pagers are much better. Think about it some more and see if you can remember anything."

The boss scratched his head, took a breath, thought for a while, shook his head and said, "I really don't remember. But according to what this guy just said, the person who made the pager should be right next to me, maybe even living in this compound. Nobody can come here every day just to make a pager. There are public phones everywhere now. You could earn a couple of bucks back then, but now there are so many of these things, it's just a business, there's hardly any profit in it."

Xiao Wei offered his boss a cigarette and asked, "Are you familiar with the people in this compound? Do you know many of them?"

The boss took the cigarette, lit it with the butt of his own, and said, "You really have to be rich to smoke this. It's good for you government employees to run a business and make money, unlike us who just live a life of eating and drinking."

Xiao Wei said, "My family just runs a food factory, it's not a big business, and we don't get any government funding."

The boss turned his head and looked at the gate of the community and said, "Most of the people in this compound are long-time residents. I know them all. Many of them grew up in this area. I can recognize at least half of them."

Xiao Wei said, "Then think about it, are there any single people in this courtyard who are around thirty or forty years old and don't have wives?"

The boss thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "I really can't think of anything right now. Let me try to find out for you; someone must know."

Xiao Wei sighed as he looked at the gate of the residential compound. He had spent most of the day running around, his feet were aching, and he had even used his connections, but it all came to nothing. Solving cases was definitely not an easy thing; it was too difficult.

Xiao Liu said, "Let's go back. We'll come back tomorrow. Don't rush. Take your time looking. That's what solving a case is all about. There's no such thing as solving a case as soon as you get it. This is pretty fast. At least we've narrowed down the search area."

Xiao Wei said to the convenience store owner, "Then could you please inquire for me? Call if there's any information. If this case is solved, I'll give you a credit." The owner said, "Okay, I'll inquire for you. Any credit for meritorious service?"

Xiao Wei said, "It's hard to say now, but anyway, you'll benefit from it. Why would I let you work for free?"

The boss nodded and said, "That's true, okay, I'll ask for you. I'll call if anything comes up."

Someone nearby said, "Hey Luo, you just don't have a wife, right? They probably aren't looking for someone like you, are they?"

The boss said, "They're looking for women in their thirties or forties, but I'm almost sixty. Besides, it's not like I don't have a wife. Did your wife give birth to my son?"

A group of people burst into laughter and started teasing the person who had spoken.

Xiao Wei and Xiao Liu got on the bus and walked back, both looking a bit dejected.

After taking Xiao Liu back to the police station, he jumped out of the car and turned around to ask, "What did you mean when you said you were looking for a single man in his thirties or forties?"

Xiao Wei said, "I feel like anyone who frequently visits prostitutes and calls them home every now and then definitely doesn't have a wife. What do you think?"

Xiao Liu thought for a moment and said, "The chances are slim, but it's not certain. But it's certain that my wife and children won't be around often."

Xiao Wei said, "Do you think we could talk to Lu Shuo and get a few people together to search his entire neighborhood?"

Xiao Liu shook his head and said, "It's hopeless. There's no key evidence, and nothing that can prove anything. This definitely won't work. We need to ask the bureau for instructions on this investigation; it's not a small matter."

Xiao Wei slapped the steering wheel: "So what do we do? What are we going to do tomorrow?"

Xiao Liu said, "We can either keep using the photos to inquire and expand the scope, or continue with the investigation and patrols."

Xiao Wei rubbed his face and said, "Can I ask for leave? I really don't want to go on the investigation. What are they investigating? And even if they find something, they won't care."

Xiao Liu chuckled and said, "Isn't it great that I don't have to worry about anything? I'd be so grateful if work was always this easy. Stop dreaming and come be my driver. You think you can escape? No way!"

Back at the guesthouse, everything was peaceful and uneventful; everything was proceeding according to plan.

Xiao Xiaohui's voice has become even louder; his cries can now be heard upstairs and downstairs, and it seems he'll be running out of the guesthouse soon.

Xiao Hong, Geng Hui, and Aunt Wang would often play with Xiao Xiao Hui in Chen Xiao's room, and Chen Hui was completely absorbed in it. When Xia Maosheng went to work, Xiao Wei found himself all alone when he returned home. Due to the many customs of Northeast China, he couldn't enter Chen Xiao's room, and he had no chance to hug Xiao Xiao Hui.

(End of this chapter)