The Plow

Yue Dingtang couldn't answer this question.

Because he also has the same question.

But at the time of the forensic autopsy, the family of three, together with Mr. Xiao, the owner of the Xiaoji noodle shop next door, were all burned to death.

As for whether they encountered any accidents before they died, it is unknown.

Unless Boss Xiao dies and gives them a dream, it will definitely be a mystery for a while.

While speaking, they had arrived at No. 36 Hengtong Road.

This is a residence, a typical Shanghai folk house.

In a private house like this, there is usually not one family living in it, but several families living together. It is often possible that the owner lives in one of the rooms, and then rents out the rest of the rooms. Most of the tenants are outsiders.

At this time, Shanghai almost gathered the most luxurious pleasures in China. The economy is more developed than other cities in the south, and the folk customs are more open than those in the north. When 20 years ago, there were still discussions in the north about whether women could wear short-sleeved cheongsams. Shanghai's fashionable women have already appeared gracefully in the streets one by one.

Therefore, there are many foreigners who come to Shanghai to study, seek money, and seek power. Even if they cannot become a master, they still want to give it a try. Therefore, there is no need to worry about no one renting these houses. Naturally, the rent will not be cheap.

On New Year's Eve, every family is having a family reunion dinner, but there are also naughty children who come out to set off firecrackers.

The sound of firecrackers came and went, accompanied by the children's yelling, and the occasional sparkling fireworks, it seemed that Ling Yue and Ling Yue were out of tune.

Yue Dingtang was originally worried about how to find opportunities to go in and have a look, but when he came to the house, he found that the children in their family had also slipped out to play after eating and drinking.

"Who are you looking for?"

A middle-aged woman greeted me.

"Hello, sister-in-law, first I wish you a happy new year. May I ask if there is a gentleman named Hong here?" Yue Dingtang was polite.

"What are you looking for with the surname Hong?" The woman's expression turned ugly, she just looked at their clothes and didn't get angry for a while.

This sentence has two meanings.

One, they came in the right place, the man surnamed Hong who was in contact with Du Yuning really lived here.

Second, Hong's behavior here made this woman dislike him.

"We are his friends. It's almost Chinese New Year, so we came to see him specially. You take these snacks and give them to the children."

Yue Dingtang took the snack box from Lingshu's hand, and then handed it over to the other party, without stopping for a moment.

Ling Shu: ...

This is what he packed in the cafe to take home for supper!

The woman looked at the exquisite dessert box, and couldn't bear to put on a face anymore, and forced a smile.

"I didn't expect that Mr. Hong...Mr. Hong actually has friends. He hasn't been back for two or three days. I'm afraid you are looking at the wrong place."

Yue Dingtang: "Then do you know where he went?"

The woman mocked: "It's either at the casino or at the dance floor, where else can it be?"

Yue Dingtang was polite and polite: "Then do you know where I can find him?"

The woman sighed: "I don't know, he hasn't paid this month's rent yet, and I want to find him too. How about this, you go up and sit down first, maybe he will come back soon."

The landlord went back to the house to get the key, and took Yue Dingtang and Ling Shu upstairs.

The wooden stairs of some ages creaked, and the light came in from the outside, reflecting the window edges with uneven edges

"Speaking of which, how do you guys know someone like him?" The landlord asked curiously, "It doesn't seem like someone surnamed Hong can make friends with someone like you."

Ling Shu: "We met on the train to Shanghai. Mr. Hong was very enthusiastic and helped us carry our suitcases. We chatted for a while, and later he told us through a letter that he lived here. "

The woman said, "He's helping you with your suitcases. I'm afraid it's a weasel giving chickens New Year's greetings. Don't worry about being kind, don't have any plans!"

Ling Shu said with a smile: "After all, we are all foreigners, and we don't usually contact each other. This is not thinking that the Chinese New Year is coming, and I will come and see the fellow. If I had known that he lived in such a lively place, and there are big sisters, you are so enthusiastic. The landlord in charge, and such a cute child, I have moved here a long time ago!"

The woman smiled brightly at his praise.

"His lease is almost up. If you want to move here, I will keep the house for you."

Ling Shu: "Okay, I'll discuss it with my wife when I go back, she always thinks that the place we live in is not good, and also said that I teach and educate people, so I have to live in a place where there are books, I think your place is very good. Hey, no one can stand up to a woman messing around, if she is half as reasonable as your elder sister, I won't have such a headache."

Yue Dingtang: ...

He thought that his ability to adapt to changing situations was pretty good, but he didn't expect that there are mountains as high as mountains, and there is also a master of telling lies with open eyes.

After a few words, Ling Shu figured out what his family name was and what his husband's family did.

The woman was almost lost after being praised so hard by him, and when she heard that they were teachers, she became even more enthusiastic.

"Oh, look at what you said, you go back and tell your wife well, bring her over to have a look, the eldest sister keeps her safe and she likes it at first glance, but you married a wife at such a young age?"

"Yes, it's all by the orders of the parents at home. We got married earlier, but I didn't hear that Mr. Hong is married, and he lives alone?" Ling Shu returned to the topic without any trace.

"It's true that he brought a woman back. Oh, don't mention it. He told us before that he was an editor in a newspaper. I thought this monthly income would be enough to pay the rent. He lived here for almost half a year. In addition to paying the rent on time for three months, he started to default on it later, until the deposit was paid off, and he was still in arrears for a month, and I didn't see him take out half a cent!"

The woman's babble of complaints and dissatisfaction echoed in the stairwell.

"The rent here is not expensive. Two days ago, he came back with a look of excitement. He brought me a roast chicken for the first time, and changed a whole outfit for himself. I thought he was about to get rich. Who knew he would rather use the money to buy it. Clothes, also refused to pay the rent, really unreasonable, I have never seen a more dependable old man! With his virtue, what kind of cultural person is he, I think he is not far from a street gangster!"

"Well, here it is!"

The woman led them to the door of the room at the end of the second floor, and took out the key to open the door.

"Since you know him, go in and sit down. If he comes back later, I will tell you."

"It's not so good, after all, without the consent of the master." Ling Shu pretended to be polite.

The landlord didn't take it seriously: "That's okay, anyway, he doesn't have anything valuable here, please sit down a bit, and I'll make two bowls of tea for you two."

Now that she said that, the two of them naturally stopped being polite, and after the landlord left, they began to look around the room.

Ling Shu is a policeman, he knows best how to look through things and then return to the original position, without letting the owner notice.

Yue Dingtang strolled around the room, up and down, left and right, corners and corners, his eyes were not idle.

The layout of the room is very simple, almost crude.

There is paper and a pen on the desk, and a library card of Wusong University is pressed under it.

The library card is very new, and on the back is the record of the number of times it has been used. There are only three strokes on the word "positive".

At the same time, Ling Shu saw the name on the library card.

Hong Xiaoguang.

There are three books next to it.

One is a collection of poetry collections after the European Renaissance.

One is Tagore's "Fruit Picking Collection".

There is also a book by Shakespeare, the most widely known "Romeo and Juliet".

About half of the notebooks have been used, and they are basically transcribed verses, mostly Shakespeare.

"What did you find?" Yue Dingtang came over.

"The handwriting on the front is more serious, while the handwriting on the back is more scribbled and graffiti."

Ling Shu turned to the next few pages, and Yue Dingtang found that those graffiti were just repeating the words in the poem.

"A wise man becomes a fool, and he is the easiest fish to catch; because he relies on his talents and knowledge, but he cannot see his own arrogance." Yue Dingtang repeated it. "A quote from Shakespeare."

Ling Shu: "That's right. You should remember that when Du Yuning was in school, he liked to read his books the most, and he memorized these lines fluently."

Yue Dingtang: "So, this Mr. Hong is doing what he likes?"

Ling Shu: "What's interesting is that these three books are all foreign works, and none of them are from China. Du Yuning's love for poetry also had this bias. Maybe she couldn't recite Bai Letian's most famous three books. A poem, but can write half of Shakespeare's lines silently."

"I also have some interesting discoveries here, come and see."

Yue Dingtang walked to the bed and gently lifted the pillow.

There is a book under it.

"Jin Ping Mei".

Ling Shu picked up the book and opened it.

Yue Dingtang found that he was still wearing two white gloves: "Where did you get the gloves?"

Ling Shu lowered his head to read the book, and said casually: "Ask Shen Renjie for what you want, and pull your tiger skin, and he will happily give it to you. This thing is not worth much, but it can come in handy at critical moments, to avoid leaving fingerprints on the book cover , it was discovered by careful people that someone has moved here. You see—"

Li Ping'er whispered about Jade Pavilion, and Pan Jinlian got drunk and made trouble on the grape rack.

This is one of the most well-known chapters in "Jin Ping Mei".

It not only deeply depicts human nature, customs, and world conditions, but also satisfies the desire of ordinary people to spy.

The pages of this chapter have been turned over and over again, and they are far more wrinkled and worn than other pages, which shows that the owner must have read them often.

Ling Shu showed an inexplicable smile: "I'm afraid this "Jin Ping Mei" is far more attractive to Hong Xiaoguang than those poetry collections on the table."

Yue Dingtang: "The anthology of poems is used to please Du Yuning, but "Jin Ping Mei" is what I like to read, so it is naturally different. This Hong Xiaoguang, can't he tear down the White Party?"

Dismantling the Baidang is similar to Xianrendiao, both of which are folk slang terms, referring to those who use some means to cheat money and sex, and set up a trap for the victim.

The world is in chaos, fish and dragons are mixed, and all kinds of schools and schools are pouring out. Such demolition parties are everywhere. The small ones cheat some food and drink, and the big ones make people bankrupt.

Especially those poor children who were originally from gangsters, relying on a passable face, dressed up a little, and talked sweetly, to lure rich women into the game, making them confused by their own beauty, and then asking for whatever they want. It has been repeatedly published in newspapers, and everyone has seen it Not used to it.

"But dismantling the White Party generally only seeks money and not kills, right?"

Now not only is Du Yuning dead, but even he has been blamed out of thin air.

This situation is still confusing, and the real culprit has not yet surfaced. If it is the work of dismantling the White Party, these people are too magical to be amazing.

Ling Shu flipped through the novel and put it back in its original place.

The room was not big, and it took only a blink of an eye to walk around. Most of the furnishings belonged to the landlord, and even a set of pajamas was replaced in the closet, which showed that Hong Xiaoguang's finances were not well off.

Although Du Yuning is naive and inexperienced, her literary accomplishments far exceed that of ordinary wealthy daughters. If Hong Xiaoguang can win her heart just by being able to compose a few lines of foreign poetry, she will even be dizzy and ready to elope with him. It's also ridiculous.

Ling Shu felt that there must be other links and hidden secrets that they have not yet known.

"here."

Yue Dingtang suddenly made a sound.

"Look from here, what do you see?"

Ling Shu walked over, stood by the window, and followed his line of sight to look out.

Thanks to the fireworks and lights that come and go on New Year's Eve, we can still get a glimpse of it from the outside.

Ling Shu really looked surprised, and couldn't help gasping.

"He really planned it!"

The author has something to say:

A small theater that has nothing to do with the text——

Ling Shu: My dim sum...

Yue Dingtang: To handle the case, make good friends with the masses.

Ling Shu: My cigarette...

Yue Dingtang held the cigarette in his mouth: Smoking is harmful to health.

Ling Shu didn't say anything, and gave Yue Dingtang a birthday present three days later.

Yue Dingtang opened it and saw a book of plums in a golden vase.

Yue Chunxiao said earnestly: "Little brother, I told you a long time ago, when I got married, reading too many novels would hurt my health!"

Yue Dingtang: ...