Novice Forensic Doctor

Chapter 595: Chapter 565 Old Photos_1

Liu Yongxin nodded, patting Xu Dayuan on the arm, aware of Xu’s anxiousness. Dead people, one with memory loss due to poisoning, another one missing, and the only one left alive was being uncooperative—it was incredibly frustrating.

"Don’t rush it, wait for news about these people, see if they can remember anything. At the very least, any impression of Shi Yun’s appearance would be good, such as moles, scars, deformities, or any other distinctive features."

These words consoled Xu Dayuan.

Mr. Zhao sighed.

"If it weren’t for the age discrepancy, I’d suspect this Xu Qingshu. Her brother has linked these three people together, and there were connections between them. By the way, what is Zhang Fangfang’s occupation, and how is she related to Xu Qingquan?"

Xu Dayuan took out his cell phone, found some information, and showed everyone.

"Zhang Fangfang is the most ordinary among the three. She’s a pianist and has opened a piano store in Huining Province, Hesheng City. There’s also a branch in Qindao; they train children in piano, sell pianos, and also do tuning. In Huining, she owns a house, while in Qindao, she only has the shop without real estate.

Her parents are abroad, and it seems they are also in the musical instrument business, making it a family business. In Qindao, a cousin manages her store. She usually goes back to Qindao once a month to check the accounts, take stock, and give lessons to the students. As the saying goes, ’an outsider’s monk can chant the sutras well’; she probably thinks this helps ensure sales volume." freeweɓnovel.cøm

An idea briefly flashed through Zhou Ning’s mind, and he promptly looked up and asked,

"Director Xu, excuse me for interrupting, but do you remember the pollen that Peng Shinian found? He mentioned that this kind of corydalis plant mainly grows in graveyards, especially sunny hillside ones, not the modern commercial cemeteries. I think this is also a point worth investigating."

Xu Dayuan’s eyes lit up, and he shook his finger, saying,

"The incident happened on October 4, 1988. According to Sun Heping’s statement just now, Doctor Yun and Shi Mingchen died around October 10. So, following Chinese custom, we can look for people who were buried between October 13, 1988, and November.

Whoever took Shi Yun away must have been capable of taking care of the Shi Mingchen couple’s affairs. We can also check their place of initial household registration to find the village cemeteries, since many of the graves in Tongshan District are on these types of hillside, not the later fee-based ones."

Liu Yongxin nodded.

"Sun Heping said, Doctor Yun’s father was once a doctor at the Puji Hospital, the predecessor to the municipal hospital. I think a doctor from the 1930s must have come from a rather wealthy family background, otherwise it would be quite difficult to afford medical education for his children. It’s worth checking the archives at the municipal hospital for records of the Puji Hospital." frёewebnoѵēl.com

Xu Dayuan took out his cell phone, since there weren’t many people available to work; Ma Liang’s team of four was still in the hospital. While their lives were not in danger, healing bones and muscles would take a hundred days. Fang Mu and Liu Yufei had each taken a group of people away, and they were really short-handed now.

"Hey, Mr. Peng, gather your second squad, I’ll be downstairs in ten minutes to allocate tasks."

After hanging up the phone, Mr. Bai ran over.

"Chief, after a thorough questioning, that kid who spent half a year in the first class said his family has old sports meet photos that might have Shi Yun in them. He has to go back and check to see if they still have them.

According to his description, Shi Yun was quite short, the smallest in the class, enjoyed singing and dancing, and was lively and cheerful. She’s missing half of her front tooth, apparently chipped off by a jujube seed when eating a rice dumpling. She wasn’t particularly beautiful, but her smile was very contagious."

Xu Dayuan hurriedly waved his hand.

"We don’t have many people to use right now. You take a team to go with Sun Heping to get the photos, and send Zhang Ping to take someone to look for Shi Yun’s photos. Even if they can’t find them, bring the person back so Mr. Xia can draw a portrait. Additionally, I’ve contacted the municipal hospital, and you can go collect some materials later."

"What materials?"

Mr. Zhao patted Mr. Bai’s shoulder, stepping back two steps, narrowly avoiding Xu Dayuan’s sweeping kick.

"Are you dumb, kid? Director Xu has everything arranged. You just go and ask for the office, tell them Director Xu from the city bureau sent you to collect materials. Just follow orders from above without getting into details, why do you have so many questions? Hurry up or you’ll get kicked."

Mr. Bai nodded, warily glancing at Xu Dayuan as he quickly left.

Zhou Ning glanced at the time and said,

"Immediately notify us when there is news or a search range for the cemetery, as we already know the situation and can search faster."

Xu Dayuan waved his hand.

"Got it, let’s first check their household registration information. I hope the previous handwritten records are clear enough. Mr. Liu was right; without a decent family wealth, it would have been difficult to study medicine in that era. After all, many doctors were educated abroad. Alright, go have lunch and wait for my news."

...

17:14

Zhou Ning glanced at the time again. An entire afternoon had passed without a call from Xu Dayuan, which suggested there was no smooth progress on that front.

Mr. Zhao nudged Zhou Ning on the arm and said,

"Don’t be anxious. Going through the handwritten archives, especially those of deceased people, is very troublesome. It’s not so bad if their registrations followed their residence, but if not, it’s even more difficult to search."

"I know it’s slow, I’m just wondering if they did find the archives at the Puji Hospital, they should have sent them back by now. Could it be that there was no information about Doctor Yun’s father?"

Liu Yongxin shook his head.

"Archives from the ’50s are precious, and we need to know what happened here. According to our analysis, even if his status was problematic, he could have been persecuted severely in that era, so much so that archives might no longer exist. It’s especially difficult given that everyone familiar with the matter has either retired or passed away. I think it’s going to be tough to investigate."

"Not to mention the photos haven’t arrived either!"

After Zhou Ning finished speaking, he sighed, and Xia Momo walked up behind him, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Don’t rush."

Just then, Zhou Ning’s phone pinged twice, and he quickly checked it to find two photos received via WeChat. Although they were in color, the resolution was not high. The group photo was somewhat clear, but the heads were very small. The other appeared to be from an athletics award ceremony, but a big portion of it was blurred, seemingly from moisture damage or mold.

As everyone was staring at the screen, the door burst open and Mr. Bai darted in, his face and head drenched in sweat. Mr. Zhao quickly handed him a white towel, and Mr. Bai wiped his face roughly before handing the file bag to Zhou Ning.

"Director Zhou, there are two photos inside this, both of which are bottom-of-the-box kind of items. Director Xu sent me to deliver them to you, and I’ve taken them out first."

Just as Mr. Bai turned to leave, he was yanked back by the collar by Mr. Zhao.

"You’re in such a hurry, running like there’s a fire under your butt. I haven’t even asked you yet: Did you go to the city hospital? Did you find the archives from Puji Hospital? Is there any information about Doctor Yun’s father?"

Mr. Bai rubbed his nose and grinned with a snarl of his teeth.

"I’ve been to the hospital, and I found the archives, but the content is very simple, just a form with a name and an address. I don’t know where it is, but Director Xu said it should be close to the Da Zao Garden Wang Family Archway that dates back to the imperial teacher Wang Yi’s time. As for the name, it’s Yun Zhi Xing."

Liu Yongxin stroked his chin while Mr. Zhao and Mr. Qu found an electronic map. After a long look, they discovered the location is currently near the Qindao Shi Mei An Scenic Area. By chance, they noticed there’s a modern high-end cemetery nearby.

"Wow, when did they start marking cemeteries on this map? Jiu Feng Tomb looks expensive; to the west is Yi Xiang Lake, and the whole area is on a mountain. This really is a prime spot with mountains and water."

Zhou Ning scrutinized the map, and he couldn’t help but notice the vastness of the area. Shi Mei An Scenic Area itself covered a large area, and combined with the nearby Tiger Mountain and Quanshan, it seemed highly probable that this region was a burial site.

"Did Director Xu take people to Quanshan and Tiger Mountain?"

Mr. Bai nodded.

"Director Zhou, you guessed it exactly right. Director Xu has already taken a team there. It’s a bit late now, and Director Xu said it’s fine not to go up the mountain today; we could start by asking the local elders to see if the Yun Family was famous around here before.

Oh right, there’s another thing: we haven’t obtained Doctor Yun’s photo yet. When I went to the city hospital, I informed the leadership of the situation, and they promised to look through their older records.

She seemed to remember seeing a picture of Doctor Yun, but it’s not in the recent records. Since Doctor Yun wasn’t retired or transferred, they’ll have to check with former colleagues. If they find anything, they’ll contact me tomorrow."

The group understood the situation.

Mr. Zhao swiftly ushered Mr. Bai away; after all, there was no shortage of investigative work to be done. Peng Da’s team from the second squad had all been brought over. The area to be canvased was large, and it wasn’t easy to find the locals, considering nearly all the surrounding villages had disappeared.

But Mr. Bai had shown improvement, having taken the initiative to request Doctor Yun’s information from the hospital.

"It won’t be easy to find in a short time; I think Director Xu is leading the team all over the mountain looking for sunny spots. Momo, take a look at the photo, will you? I can’t make out the girl’s face, just the pair of curved eyes!"

Xia Momo had already scanned the photos, and with her glasses on, she looked at the large screen, only removing them after a while to speak:

"I can try to reconstruct what she might look like as an adult, but it would be easier and more accurate if I had a photo of her mother. However, this will not be quick, and I can’t provide it immediately tomorrow, as the accuracy won’t be very high."

Zhou Ning raised his hand, but Liu Yongxin was already smiling.

"Girl, don’t mind him. We’re all feeling the pressure from Director Xu and getting anxious. Don’t get carried away; just follow your own pace."

Everyone laughed, and Zhou Ning waved his hand.

"Alright, everyone go back and rest. Mr. Zhao, see Mr. Xia off. I’ll stay here and work overtime with Momo. Try to get some rest early tonight, as we may get busy tomorrow."

Mr. Zhao quickly covered Zhou Ning’s mouth and spat twice on the floor in response.

"Zhou Xiaozhou, don’t jinx it. Everything else is okay, but if we follow Director Xu and get busy tomorrow, won’t we end up climbing mountains all day?"

Liu Yongxin hummed twice and took a glance at the map on Mr. Qu’s notebook, estimating the scope of the area.

"See this? Such a large region. I think Peng Shinian’s analysis previously was very reliable. A gravesite on a sunny mountainside that is not a public cemetery. Look at this region: the point where two mountain ranges converge doesn’t leave many parts that fit the criteria. So, with enough people, we could complete the search in two days."

Zhou Ning focused on the map, understanding Liu Yongxin’s point. He meant there might be no need to investigate the Yun Family, as in the end, the search would still involve scouring the mountains. It might be wiser instead to take the straightforward approach. But currently, it wasn’t confirmed whether the Yun Family was connected to this place. If not, they would have to start from scratch.

"I’ll call Director Xu. It seems best to split our forces and tackle both options simultaneously."