Novice Forensic Doctor

Chapter 285: Chapter 282: Fatty with a Story_1

Zhao Xinli heard and grinned, tilting his chin toward Zhou Ning.

"Mr. Xia really gets me."

Their car sped on, and soon they were about to leave the center of Rudong City, but no one asked any further questions. After a few turns, they arrived in front of a modest storefront. Hanging high above the entrance was an embroidered flag prominently featuring the character for "noodle."

Beneath it hung a black plaque that read "Fatty’s Noodle House." It wasn’t extravagant but had an antique charm, and the interior looked very clean with tables and chairs all in a natural wood color. Mr. Zhao parked the car and was the first to dart out.

As soon as he entered, he called out:

"Is Fatty here?"

A fat old man with a head full of silver hair swayed his belly as he came out from behind a curtain, and upon seeing Mr. Zhao, he broke into a smile like a Maitreya Buddha.

"Kid, what brings you here?"

Zhao Xinli turned around and pointed at the group behind him, saying:

"We’re handling some matters in Rudong and just happened to be hungry. Fatty, please take care of us. We’ve got a lot of people, so we’d like to have something quick, just noodles will do. Oh, and how about a pot of dumplings with stuffing?" ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

"Sure, come on in and sit!"

The fat old man laughed and, patting Mr. Zhao’s back, hurried them all to come in and take a seat. With roughly a dozen people, they filled up half of the noodle house, occupying exactly four tables.

Mr. Zhao went off to chat with the fat old man, and not long after, a young man came out with a large square tray full of small dishes containing various appetizers. Although simple in presentation, they were quite rich in content.

Seasoned seaweed, spicy cabbage, cold shredded potato, kelp shreds, spicy and oily tofu skin, smashed cucumber, boiled peanuts, hot and sour bean sprouts—you’d find eight different dishes per table, which took up a large part of the tabletop.

Just as everyone was trying to figure out what was going on, Mr. Zhao and the fat old man came out pushing a cart.

On it were more than a dozen noodle bowls. You could tell it was plain boiled noodles, but the noodles were definitely handmade, thinner at the edges and slightly thicker toward the center, resembling a household basin in size. Most eye-catching was a bowl of thinly sliced beef next to it; it was as thin as a cicada’s wing. Beside it was a soup bucket.

The light yellow, thick soup in the bucket contained huge bones. When stirred, the savory aroma of beef bone soup wafted through the air, causing everyone, regardless of gender, to salivate uncontrollably.

The fat old man grabbed a noodle bowl, put on a clear glove, and smiled at Xu Dayuan’s table.

"Anyone who doesn’t eat green onion, coriander, or chili?"

Xu Dayuan and the others all shook their heads. The fat old man’s hands moved quickly, he grabbed the beef slices and tossed them into the bowls, covering the noodles so that they looked like they were topped entirely with beef.

Then he added green onion, coriander, chili, and Szechuan pepper salt directly to the bowl. With the beef bone soup poured over everything, the rich aroma climbed to a new level. The fat old man smiled and signaled them to help themselves.

He then pushed the cart quickly towards the next table. In just a few minutes, everyone at the four tables got their noodles. Zhou Ning stirred the soup, tasted a sip, swallowed the hearty, meaty, and hot brew, and instantly felt warmth spreading through his stomach, awakening his taste buds.

Mr. Zhao, seated opposite, saw Zhou Ning’s reaction and burst into laughter.

"There’s actually a lot more ways to eat this. You can add tofu shreds and kelp shreds to the noodles, a dash of sesame oil, and some vinegar—only the Old Lighthouse vinegar from Qindao will do. It tastes incredibly delicious!"

The others, upon hearing, didn’t hesitate, reaching for the dishes with their chopsticks. Zhou Ning tried a bit of everything, and sure enough, the flavors were even more delightful.

"It’s not for no reason that you’re not thin; you just love to eat too much. This beef looks paper-thin, but it has a great texture in the mouth, and the noodles are especially chewy and springy."

Mr. Zhao grinned triumphantly and glanced at the other three tables. Rolling his eyes, he saw everyone already wolfing down their food, their dishes wiped clean. No need to adjust any flavors when the plates are bare.

Some called out for another bowl, but Mr. Zhao shook his head.

"Take your time eating. The noodles are boiled a bit al dente so that when the soup cools down, they’ll be just right to eat. It’s easy to overeat if you gobble them down while they’re still hot. Let’s wait a bit; we still have potstickers to come. Fatty used to be an executive chef at the Qindao Grand Hotel, right opposite our compound. His skills are unquestionable."

Xu Dayuan suddenly realized why the food tasted so good. Before he could dwell on it, Fatty had already brought out the potstickers. A huge plate, fifty centimeters in diameter, was filled with neatly arranged potstickers, their crispy, golden backs looking like finely carved openwork. They were almost too beautiful to break open with a chopstick. freёwebnovel.com

Mr. Zhao stood up.

"Fatty, give me a plate of pork and three delicacies potstickers. I’ve been craving them for a year."

The fat old man smiled even more joyously and promptly handed him a plate. The remaining plates were divided among the three tables. Zhou Ning picked up a potsticker and bit into it, and instantly the broth burst in his mouth. He paused for a moment, and Xia Momo and Zhu Xingxing both looked at him.

"What’s wrong, doesn’t it taste good?"

Zhou Ning shook his head.

"It’s not just tasty, it’s bursting with juices. You bite into it and there’s a big shrimp, and the chives are still so vibrant green. The skill involved is truly unbeatable."

Upon hearing this, everyone hurried to try the potstickers, with Xu Dayuan nodding repeatedly.

"The flavors are amazing, but why open a small shop in such a place? If you found a good spot in Qindao, you’d be overflowing with customers."

Mr. Zhao glanced toward the kitchen, his smile fading as he quietly shook his head and said in a low voice.

"Fatty has come a long way now. His son opened a big hotel in Qindao ten years ago, and the business was booming. But it also caught someone’s attention. In 2004, his whole family was kidnapped, and a ransom of eight million was demanded. Back then, eight million was a huge sum. Fatty delivered the money as asked, but the kidnappers had already broken their promise."

"After so many years, the city center reminds him of his sorrow, having lost both his family and fortune. So, he moved to Rudong to live. Of the eight million in ransom, part of it was borrowed. He continues running his shop to pay off the debt sooner. That way, he’ll have no lingering worries."

Xu Dayuan squinted, his face showing a shocked expression.

"I remember this case. I have an impression of it. At the end of April 2004, a case was reported, the 4.14 major kidnapping and murder case. The victims were the owner of the Jiangning Clubhouse in Qindao and his wife and daughter.

The person who reported the case was named Zhu Yantao. He went to the police carrying a bag, inside of which were three fingers. Upon identification, the fingers were confirmed to belong to his son Zhu Guotai, his daughter-in-law Fang Yue, and granddaughter Zhu Li. Fang Yue was an actress, which I guess you all recognize."

"He reported the case, and the police set up a 4.14 task force to investigate. However, word spread quickly, reporters got wind of it, began to follow the story, and reported it unscrupulously, causing the criminals to panic. They sent two ears next, as well as several photographs of Fang Yue."

"Zhu Yantao was frantic and begged the police to back off. Once the money was ready, it was delivered to a street outside of the Sea World as the kidnappers directed. But the kidnappers called off the deal, saying over the phone that Zhu Yantao had broken the agreement and to prepare to collect the bodies of the three. Zhu Yantao was stunned and drove alone to a new location, as per the kidnappers’ demand."

"After being led on multiple times, Zhu Yantao arrived at a cliff’s edge where he threw down the bags of eight million in cash. But even that didn’t evade the followers who were photographing. The investigation became passive, and when they reached the cliff, the bags holding the money had disappeared without a trace."

"From that point, there was no word from the kidnappers. But as the story fermented further, every gory detail was circulated. Seven days later, someone reported finding three bodies by the sea."

"An examination by the forensic doctor revealed that these three bodies were the kidnapped family. The estimated time of death was the day the ransom was given. If it hadn’t been for the interference and the intense media coverage..."

Xu Dayuan didn’t continue. Everyone knew there were no ’what-ifs’; the people were already dead.

At this point, Zhou Ning recalled, he seemed to have seen these reports at the time. Back then, he had felt the headlines were too eye-catching, but he was in college then and unaware the case had happened in Qindao.

Mr. Zhao sighed, his usually smiling face now rarely showing a hint of anger.

"If there hadn’t been a leak from inside, it wouldn’t have gotten to this uncontrollable stage. Yet everyone fails to blame the police officer who leaked the information or those who published it. Instead, they point the finger at Fatty, blaming him for alerting the police, as if he had forced his own son’s family to their deaths.

Under such pressure, Fatty couldn’t cope and liquidated his assets. But he still had a lot of debts. His son’s hotel landlord kicked Fatty out, saying it was too unlucky. Helpless, Fatty came to Rudong City, where he has been hiding his identity and running a shop, finally settling his debts last year.

The grief of losing a child in one’s old age is unimaginable to most, especially since his granddaughter was only two years old and died terribly. It’s said her belly was slit open and her mouth torn. All three were tortured to death, and the kidnapper is still at large.

The police chief in 2004 was disciplined the next year for taking bribes and protecting criminal organizations. If there had been no inside leak, coupled with ruthless media reporting and less public attention, perhaps there would have been hope for the three to survive."

Everyone fell silent, heads hanging down as they continued to eat the potstickers. Unnoticed, the old Fatty approached Mr. Zhao.

"Young man, have you been dieting lately? You’ve eaten too little!"

Zhao Xinli felt a bit embarrassed and spoke in a lower voice:

"Actually, I had breakfast at ten, but I crave your noodles every time I pass by here. Even when I’m not hungry, I can still eat a bowl of noodles and a large plate of potstickers."

The two of them laughed. Mr. Tao had already gone to pay the bill. After exchanging a few pleasantries, everyone got into the car, and Fatty saw them off, continuously waving at the car. Mr. Zhao honked twice, following the other police cars onto the road.

The atmosphere in the car was heavy, and Mr. Zhao glanced at Xu Dayuan through the rearview mirror.

"What’s wrong, boss? Did this case depress you?"

Xu Dayuan looked up, his gaze on Zhao Xinli revealing a hint of understanding.

"Don’t play coy with me. There’s no way you’d bring us here for a meal without a reason. Tell me, what are you thinking? Among the cold cases reported from the other districts and cities, this case wasn’t mentioned. Do you want our task force to handle this case?

You should know that Mr. Hu wants quick results. Kidnapping cases inherently lack evidence, and the fact that it hasn’t come up suggests there’s very little physical evidence, making it hard to solve in the short term."

Mr. Zhao smiled, his face showing a guileless expression.

"Nothing much, the task force’s work is the priority. But after we’re done, can we pay some attention to this case?"

Xu Dayuan sighed softly, fully aware of Mr. Zhao’s concerns.

"Alright, I promise you!"