Free Web NovelChapter 413: Chapter 390 Mini Barbecue_1
Zhou Ning flipped through the mobile phone calendar, and according to the date the body was found, this day was already very close to the time of the victim’s death. However, was she carrying a bag because she was going to give birth?
"Sister, can you recall if she was carrying any medical records or something like a file bag?"
The woman looked at Zhou Ning, thought carefully, and shook her head slightly.
"Her hands were empty, but I took a second look at that bag because it was very full, bulging like this, with a water bottle and urine pads showing. It looked to me like a maternity bag."
Huang Youdao used the police terminal to search and found a photo, which he handed to the woman to look at.
"Is this the young wife of your neighbor?"
The woman looked carefully, and the man also leaned in, both nodding together.
"Yes, that’s her. This young wife has very fair skin, and she didn’t gain much weight during pregnancy, so the baby doesn’t look very big."
Zhou Ning glanced at it, and there was Fu Chunyu’s identity information. The woman in the photo was very young, appearing to be in her early twenties, with a slight smile and phoenix eyes that looked very delicate.
Huang Youdao stood up. At this point, it was basically confirmed that Fu Chunyu was very likely the victim. There was a lot of work that needed to be arranged, and they couldn’t stay much longer.
"Thank you for cooperating with the police and providing us with useful information. I’ll leave you my phone number. If someone comes to knock on the door across from you, please let me know. Of course, it’d be best if you could remember what they look like. Thank you very much!"
The couple saw Zhou Ning and his colleagues out. As they descended the stairs, Huang Youdao hurriedly walked toward the car, while Mr. Zhao helped Liu Yongxin, pulling his collar tight for him.
"Mr. Liu, don’t hurry and run; it’s much colder here than in Qindao."
Liu Yongxin waved his hand.
"I’m fine, don’t worry about me. Hurry up and get in the car. It’s very likely that Fu Chunyu is the victim. After all, among the seventy-plus pregnant women we checked, everyone was contacted personally, except for her. Besides, both her boyfriend and father-in-law have motives for the crime. Our job is pretty much at an end here."
Mr. Zhao shook his head.
"I feel like my work is just beginning. Let’s go. We may come back as soon as we get the search warrant. But my dog Sniffer didn’t detect any smell of blood or decay, and after all, that scent would be too stimulating."
The car started and sped toward the city bureau.
Mr. Zhao and Zhou Ning sat side by side, taking up one and a half seats. He elbowed Zhou Ning and asked in a low voice.
"Zhou Xiaozhou, why are you so quiet today? Do you have any doubts?"
Zhou Ning shook his head.
"Not really doubts, but I want to search for Zhang Hongwei’s information when I get back. This boyfriend showed up too quickly and left just as fast. Why do I feel like Fu Chunyu is not a simple person?"
Mr. Zhao nodded in agreement.
Mr. Wu’s words could be analyzed to show, this woman is not simple. With a lawyer and a boyfriend backing her up, she went straight to the village committee as a witness, bringing the father-in-law to discuss property issues. It appeared to be a rational argument, following legal procedures, but in fact, it was also putting pressure on the father-in-law.
One is an old man who lost his son, the other a pregnant woman carrying a posthumous child. With these people accompanying her, she was telling everyone that the old man was lacking in humanity, that he wanted to drive his daughter-in-law away after his son’s death and didn’t acknowledge the child, making the public pressure the old man through public opinion.
In this way, whether she later found someone to forge a notary document or transferred the property ownership, others would think it was compensation given by the father-in-law. As for whether there were any proofs, in the village, the witness testimony of the village committee is the strongest evidence."
Zhou Ning nodded; such events were common when his grandfather had been a village chief.
Many people came to his grandfather to settle disputes, not the kind that go to court, but matters like family arguments, who should provide support, and who should pay. Usually, if the village chief spoke up, people would listen.
If such trivial matters went to court, the thresholds of the courts would be worn down. As the car came to a stop, they quickly got out. Huang Youdao looked back apologetically and said,
"Why don’t you rest first? I have a few things to arrange, sending someone to bring back Zhang Hongwei, another to keep an eye on Yang Liang, and to sort out the search warrant. However, I won’t be able to get it stamped until early tomorrow morning, and the crime scene investigation will also have to wait until then."
Zhou Ning didn’t object. This being Dayao City and not Qindao, they had to comply with the local practices, after all.
"Alright, then we’ll go rest now. We’ll come over at seven tomorrow morning, ready for the crime scene investigation and awaiting orders to depart."
Huang Youdao nodded, as if he had just remembered something, adding quickly,
"Oh, and Mr. Zhao mentioned that you’re familiar with people from Huining Province. I found the information about Fu Chunyu’s hometown, so I’ll contact you about it. After all, many cross-provincial details are inaccurate and require local cooperation."
Zhou Ning smiled.
"Just send it to me, and we won’t go up then."
After saying goodbye to Huang Youdao, Mr. Zhao drove toward the hotel. Upon arrival, Mr. Zhao patted his stomach.
"Say, are any of you hungry? We didn’t eat much for dinner, and my stomach is making a fuss. How about grabbing some barbecue? After all, Dayao City’s barbecue is famous."
Liu Yongxin waved his hand.
"I’ll rest. I’m getting older, and my feet are a bit swollen. You young people go have fun!"
Zhou Ning glanced at the few interns, and clearly, they were all somewhat interested. However, since they were not familiar with the area, going out for barbecue could mean drinking, which might delay tomorrow’s work.
"Zou Jialong, run over to the barbecue place across the street, order some special skewers, and have them send it straight to the room once it’s done. Remember, no alcohol; we’re busy tomorrow, and we can’t afford to embarrass Qindao City Bureau, got it?"
As he spoke, he pulled out three hundred yuan and handed it to Zou Jialong, who declined. Mr. Zhao quickly took the money and gestured to the others to go ahead.
"Mr. Pang and Mr. Hen, help Mr. Liu up, go wash up if you need to. I’ll order the food. Let Zou Jialong handle this; he knows what everyone likes to eat. I’m good at this," he told them.
Everyone laughed, and Mr. Zhao cheerfully ran off towards the barbecue shop. Zou Jialong scratched his head, feeling a bit awkward, and said,
"Boss, having the opportunity to come out with you is already a great learning experience, so why won’t you let us interns treat you?"
Zhou Ning smiled and assisted Liu Yongxin as they walked inside, continuing the conversation. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"I’ve been through these times myself. Everyone’s just poor students. Just focus on improving your professional skills and try to stay on."
Zou Jialong and Pang Tianhang quickly nodded, but still eager, they hurriedly said,
"But treating you to a round of barbecue wouldn’t delay us. It wouldn’t cost much either."
"Exactly!"
Liu Yongxin glared at them, and in an instant, they fell silent. Within this group, although Zhou Ning seemed a bit intimidating, they knew he was the easiest to talk to and didn’t have any bad habits. After all, the interns also shared notes among themselves, and the one known for scolding the least was Zhou Ning.
As for Mr. Liu, everyone was afraid of him, or rather, they held him in awe. Just one look from him could make your heart skip a beat, making you feel like you’d done something wrong.
"Right now, you’re not earning money and still paying for your internship. Don’t waste your parents’ money. Earning a bit of travel allowance while on business trips is good. My apprentice doesn’t lack this little bit of money. If you can learn well and become excellent forensic doctors, it would reflect well on me too. Don’t focus on these trivial matters; got it?"
The two of them felt a little embarrassed, but seeing the sincerity on Mr. Liu’s face, they nodded earnestly.
"Mr. Liu, we know our mistake. We won’t let any case slip by. We’ll follow the boss closely, improve our professional skills, not embarrass you out there, and we’ll stop these little schemes."
Mr. Liu coughed and waved them off.
"Save the small schemes, instead, learn from my apprentice. He developed a piece of software on his own, managed to collaborate with Qin University, and even found an opportunity for me to work after retirement. It’s fine to have more of these kinds of thoughts."
This statement made everyone laugh, and the awkwardness of the two disappeared. At that moment, Mr. Zhao hurried back into the hall, where everyone was still laughing, and he hastily approached.
"What’s this all about? You’re waiting here for me instead of going upstairs?"
Zhou Ning saw the soda in Mr. Zhao’s hands and couldn’t help but laugh.
"Where’s the barbecue? We said no alcohol, so you bought soda? Are you on a mission to gain three pounds tonight?"
Mr. Zhao pouted and extended his hand to Zhou Ning, showing only a couple of coins left in his palm.
"Do you still want the change? I’m telling you, although the city doesn’t look that big, the cost of living ain’t low. Just that little barbecue cost nearly three hundred yuan. A corn skewer back in Qindao costs only 50 cents each, but here it’s 6.8 yuan. They’re practically robbing us."
Zhou Ning narrowed his eyes and paused, contemplating.
"Wait a minute, how many corn skewers did you order?" ƒгeewebnovёl.com
Mr. Zhao spread his hands, looking helpless.
"Seeing the prices, I only got six skewers, one for each person so we could try the flavor. But I ordered a lot of meat because, oddly enough, the meat was cheaper than the corn."
Liu Yongxin looked puzzled.
"You sure you didn’t get swindled, boy?"
At that moment, the hotel’s revolving door opened, and a young man hurried towards them with two foil-wrapped bags in hand and eagerly presented the bags to the fat man.
"Bro, your barbecue is ready," he said.
Mr. Zhao blinked, visibly shocked by the size of the bags, which resembled the largest bags from the supermarket. He spent a total of 298 yuan but didn’t order much. How could it have ballooned to so much?
"What’s the meaning of this? Don’t go yet. Is this really all my order?"
"Yes, bro. Check if anything’s missing. If not, I’ll leave," the delivery boy replied.
Mr. Zhao quickly opened the bags, revealing huge skewers over a red willow stick, longer than Mr. Zhao’s forearm, with firm meat abundantly seasoned. As soon as the bag was opened, the aroma wafted through the air. Stunned by the size of the skewers, Mr. Zhao blinked again.
"Oops, I might have ordered too much. How was I to know their skewers were so enormous? Wait, where’s the corn..."
While speaking, Mr. Zhao opened the other bag, revealing giant corn cobs dripping with oil. He swallowed hard.
"Now I get why it was expensive. This is really a great deal. Let’s head upstairs. Who cares about gaining three pounds tonight? There’s no way I’m letting them go to bed before midnight!"
