20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 590 Relief
After leaving Lao Qingyun, Jiang Lianheng called Li Zhengxi and immediately followed Patrolman Zou to set off.

The clues pointed to an old apartment on Xiafei Road in the French Concession.

The three of them walked there, passing through the streets and alleys, and there was a lot of noise along the way.

Jiang Lianheng sighed as he walked: "I didn't expect that your police department was so easy to find."

Police Inspector Zou waved his hand and said, "Special matters should be handled specially. After all, it was Inspector Huang who ordered it personally, so we have to be careful!"

Jiang Lianheng and Li Zhengxi smiled.

In fact, the efficiency of the police station has always been high. It just depends on whether the person reporting to the police has any connections. If not, it would be best if he is a foreigner.

Although Shanghai is big, it is just a city after all.

A widower in his forties, with a girl in her twenties, living in Shanghai, with no relatives and a northern accent. After screening other details, there will always be some clues left, unless these two people have just arrived in Shanghai and deliberately concealed their identity, never left their house, and isolated themselves from the world.

But we can't be sure, Patrolman Zou reminded: "Without photos, we can't be sure, so we have to let Mr. Jiang go and take a look in person."

"That's okay, just think of it as a walk."

Jiang Lianheng tried to comfort her with a few words, saying that it didn't matter and that it didn't matter if he couldn't find it, but he kept wiping the sweat from his hands on his trouser legs from time to time.

In a blink of an eye, we arrived at Xiafei Road.

Since the civil war in the north, many Russians have moved south to the Far East, with the largest number naturally coming from Harbin, but there are also quite a few in Shanghai, and most of them have settled there.

On both sides of the road, you can see Russian restaurants, bakeries, cafes and brothels run by Russians everywhere.

Compared with Harbin, the style impression is not as strong, but it has a bit more of a down-to-earth feel.

"Mr. Jiang, we're almost there."

Patrolman Zou raised his hand and pointed to a four-story apartment building in the distance.

Jiang Lianheng nodded and quickened his pace. Seeing that they were getting closer, he became more anxious and concerned.

After taking a few steps, he saw a short, fat man standing alone downstairs of the apartment building in the distance. He looked around and his eyes caught that of Patrolman Zou, so he hurried over to him.

This man was in his forties, with a round and shiny face. He smiled at everyone he met and had a naturally likable look.

The two sides shook hands and talked, and Jiang Lianheng was a little confused.

Police Inspector Zou explained: "Mr. Wu is the landlord of this apartment. He provided the clue. Just follow him."

Fatty Wu cupped his hands together, stepped aside to make way, and said with a chuckle, "Nice to meet you two. It's too cold. Please come in. I'll go in and talk first."

"Is he at home?" asked Patrolman Zou.

"Well, I don't know. He should be at home." Fatty Wu said, "He works the night shift and sleeps at home during the day. I always come to collect the rent at this time."

Jiang Lianheng followed behind, frowned, and asked: "Captain Zou hasn't seen that person yet?"

Police Inspector Zou shook his head and said, "I'm in charge of this block. Only Old Wu's clue matches. I just heard about it and went to tell you right away."

After hearing this, Jiang Lianheng was inevitably speechless, and subconsciously felt that these two people were not very reliable.

But on second thought, I feel it is understandable.

After all, looking for someone is not like catching a thief. Heng cannot first arrest the person and take him to the police station or Lao Qingyun, and then have Jiang Lianheng come forward to identify him.

Although the police station acted in an overbearing manner, there was no reason for them to search for someone in this way.

Moreover, without photo evidence, even if Inspector Zou saw the person, he would not be able to recognize him. In the end, Jiang Lianheng would have to come in person to confirm it.

Thinking about it carefully, I felt that perhaps this was the only way I could see Uncle Seventh.

The three of them walked into the apartment and climbed the stairs.

Fatty Wu said as he walked, "I just found out that Chief Zou was looking for someone. When I asked, I found out that he was a 40-year-old girl with a northern accent. I thought he looked like him."

"Are your eyes drooping?" Li Zhengxi asked.

Fatty Wu thought for a moment and said, "Maybe a little, but I think he's mainly sleepy. Working the night shift is pretty tiring!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhengxi suddenly became enthusiastic.

Jiang Lianheng inexplicably poured cold water on him, saying, "There are many people who droop their eyes. Don't always believe everything you hear." Then he asked, "Mr. Wu, how long has he lived here?"

Fatty Wu pondered, "Well, more than three years, at least three years."

"He just came to Shanghai and rented a house from you?"

"I don't know about that. They just rent a house and do business. I can't ask them about it."

"What did he say his name was?"

"Alas, I have too many tenants and I can't remember clearly. I need to go back and look at the contract, but his last name is also Jiang. Oh, right, are you two relatives?"

Jiang Lianheng quickly stepped onto the stairs and asked again: "Where is that girl? What's her name?"

"Oh, she's just a little girl, how can I ask too many questions!" Although Fatty Wu is from Shanghai, he has an old-fashioned style.

As they were talking, they had already arrived on the third floor.

Fatty Wu led Jiang Lianheng to the door of a room and knocked twice. When he heard no response, he knocked harder.

Boom boom boom!
"Is Mr. Jiang here? I'm not here to collect the rent. Your relative is here!"

There was no response from inside the house for a long while.

Fatty Wu turned around and looked at his pocket watch, frowned, and muttered, "Usually he's here at this time..."

"Don't you have a spare key?" asked Patrolman Zou.

"They changed the padlock themselves. I don't have it." Fatty Wu said, "How about we wait a little longer, Chief Zou, you haven't eaten yet, right? It's just right..."

Before he finished speaking, Jiang Lianheng turned sideways, rushed to the door and said, "Let's eat later, go in and take a look first."

After saying that, he stretched out two fingers, pinched the cuff of his left hand, and gently pulled it, and suddenly a thin iron wire as long as a palm came out.

With just one hand, he fiddled with it for a few times and in the blink of an eye, he had molded it into a "几" shape with a slight bit of elasticity.

Insert the hooked end into the keyhole, and hear a series of subtle clicks. It seems that the key has been found. Apply a little force with two fingers, and there is a "click" sound, and the lock tongue surrenders obediently.

Fatty Wu stared with his eyes wide open, in a trance, until the lock tongue jumped up, then he looked up at Patrolman Zou and thought to himself:
Don’t you care about this?
Not sure if this is the person he is looking for!
But Patrolman Zou was also stunned, and suddenly came to his senses. He didn't dare to do anything, but just smiled awkwardly and pretended nothing had happened.

Jiang Lianheng put away the wire, slowly opened the door, looked around, and his heart suddenly tightened.

What came into view was an empty space.

Several people walked into the house, and the most surprised one among them was the landlord, Fatty Wu.

"Oh my god, what's going on?"

He rushed into the room, looked in the bedroom and then in the kitchen, but the room was empty and there was nothing there.

"This is just a ghost. I came to collect the rent at the end of last month. How could he just leave without telling me in advance?"

A house where no one lives has no vitality. You can see it at a glance, or even feel it.

There was a faint echo in the house, it seemed that it had been vacant for a long time, everyone who should have moved out had moved out, leaving no trace of life. Li Zhengxi felt a little lost.

If this person hadn't left, he might not have been the Seventh Master. But now that he's gone, we can be sure that he is definitely the Seventh Master.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but secretly glance at Jiang Lianheng, wondering what he was thinking.

Jiang Lianheng remained silent, even a little dull, and just wandered around aimlessly, looking east and west, as if he was trying to experience the remaining breath of life here.

The house is quite big, with two bedrooms. The living room is small but sufficient. The kitchen is fully equipped with a stove, the bedroom has cabinets, and the bathroom is equipped with a flush toilet. The rent is certainly not cheap, at seven yuan a month, which is considered mid- to high-end.

At this time, Fatty Wu had already accepted the fact that the tenant had moved out, so he began to run around checking the facilities of the house.

"Oh my, why can't the cabinet door be closed tightly? This is too careless!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, and this one, this box was newly painted when we rented the house, how come it got knocked off!"

"Oh, I suddenly remembered that his water and electricity bills had not been settled yet. How could he run away? This is simply outrageous!"

Fatty Wu went through a lot of trouble inside and outside, and finally came to the door of the room and said with a sad face, "Captain Zou, I want to report a crime."

Police Inspector Zou frowned and waved his hand, saying, "Don't you have a deposit? Why report such a small matter?"

"Oh, Chief Zou, the deposit is to compensate me, but the rent is paid monthly, and he hasn't paid me the rent yet!"

"Go away, it's just a small matter. That's a golden nanmu box or a huanghuali cabinet. The deposit is not enough to compensate you. Now it's important to find someone!"

Fatty Wu thought of his business and didn't dare to say anything more. However, he couldn't bear the heartache, so he touched the furniture in the house and sighed.

Patrolman Zou said, "Bring the contract here later and check on this person first before we talk."

Fatty Wu nodded quickly and said yes, still mumbling.

Li Zhengxi was a little impatient when he saw it. He knew in his heart that this was the house where the Seventh Master had lived, so he said, "Alright, alright, you settle the bill later, and I'll compensate you for the difference."

Police Inspector Zou suddenly said, "He's such a grown-up and has been in Shanghai for at least three years. It's impossible that he doesn't have any clues. Old Wu, think about it again."

"He doesn't socialize much!" Fatty Wu pondered for a moment, and then seemed to remember something, and said hurriedly, "Oh, that girl, that girl seems to be a student, a college student, but I don't know which school she is in. This should be a clue, right?"

Patrolman Zou nodded, as long as there was a direction, that was good.

It’s only a matter of time before we follow the clues and find the real culprit.

On the other side, Jiang Lianheng was still looking around in the room. He walked to the window without realizing it, and looked into the distance in silence.

After looking for a while, he lowered his head and glanced around. Suddenly, he saw a sharp dagger hidden behind the curtain in the corner of the windowsill.

Jiang Lianheng frowned, drew aside the curtain and saw some money under the dagger.

He picked up the dagger and used the sharp blade to count the coins, which included both zeros and integers - six yuan, fifty cents and three old square-holed coins.

Jiang Lianheng turned around and shouted, "The rent and utility bills are here!"

"where?"

Fatty Wu was surprised and happy. He came over immediately and felt relieved when he saw the money.

"Hey, why is it hidden here? Wouldn't it be better to put it on the table? I didn't pay attention just now and almost didn't see it. Thank you, Mr. Jiang!" Fatty Wu muttered in a low voice: "I told you, that man looks quite honest. He shouldn't run away with a debt!"

Jiang Lianheng seemed to understand something, so he waved the dagger in front of him and asked, "Is this yours?"

Fatty Wu thought for a moment and said, "Yes, these are the things I brought with me when I rented the house."

Jiang Lianheng knew he was lying, so he took it and said, "I really want it, give it to me."

"No, Mr. Jiang, this..."

Fatty Wu was hesitant and was halfway through his words when Patrolman Zou came over.

"Mr. Jiang, I think Old Wu's tenant is the person you are looking for, right?" Inspector Zou said, "It doesn't matter. Even if he is gone, there will always be other clues. We can look for him along the school. As long as they don't leave Shanghai, we will definitely find them."

Jiang Lianheng pondered for a while, and suddenly shook his head.

"I can't find it anymore."

"Aren't you looking for it?"

Everyone was surprised. They saw the clues connecting to each other, but when it came to the point of finding the clue, he said he didn't want to look for it anymore.

What do you mean?
Do you think the police station is too idle and are playing tricks on people?
Li Zhengxi was confused and puzzled. He rushed over in three or two steps and opened his mouth to ask a question, but when he saw Jiang Lianheng's eyes, he immediately swallowed his words back.

Although Patrolman Zou had received instructions from his superiors, he was still somewhat dissatisfied at the moment. He said, "Mr. Jiang, we have mobilized a lot of police force in the past two days. Now the clues have come out, and you said you don't want to find it, so...what can I say when I go back?"

Jiang Lianheng is not a person who can't get things done, but this time his attitude is particularly firm, even a little stubborn and hard.

"What else can I say? Just tell me I won't look for her anymore. If you find it difficult, I'll go talk to Inspector Huang in person."

Patrolman Zou softened immediately and said hurriedly, "No, no, no, that's not necessary. Just give me an explanation so I can report back!"

"I wasn't sure if he was in Shanghai in the first place," Jiang Lianheng said. "I came here to take a look today, and I don't think he was. He's not short of money, so he shouldn't live in such a shabby place. Let's not waste our time any more."

"My house is pretty nice..." Fatty Wu muttered.

But no matter what, Jiang Lianheng had made up his mind and would not look for her anymore.

Since he had made up his mind, Patrolman Zou had nothing to say. Although he was dissatisfied, at least he had one less thing to do and could have some free time.

That afternoon, Jiang Lianheng returned to the Lao Qingyun Hotel, told the brothers what had happened, and immediately told them to prepare to return home.

Set aside three days of free time. After all, you have made the trip to Shanghai with great difficulty, and maybe it will be the only time in your life. Buy whatever you need to and bring some gifts back home.

Jiang Lianheng also went to the department store and personally picked out gifts for his elder aunt, younger aunt, daughter-in-law, children, Dongfeng and Nanfeng.

He didn't know how to be picky, he just knew that expensive things are worse than cheap ones, so he spent the whole day preparing the gifts.

After dinner at night, I went back to my room to drink tea, smoke and chat.

Li Zhengxi was a little reluctant and even unwilling to give up, so he asked: "Brother, are we really not going to look for Master Qi? He clearly lived in the apartment on Xiafei Road!"

Jiang Lianheng smoked a cigarette, thinking back to everything that happened in Shanghai, how much hatred and dissatisfaction he had, and finally shook his head.

"Forget it, let's not bother him anymore."

"But the world is so big, if we don't see you this time, we may never see you again in the future!"

"Don't be so harsh. Our family is in Fengtian. No matter when, as long as he wants to go back, he will always be the Seventh Master of the Jiang Family."

"I know that, but after all these years, I still want to talk to him and have some fun..."

Jiang Lianheng waved his hand and said, "Grown man, why are you talking so much hypocritical nonsense? He knows how I am doing now, and I know how he is doing now, and that's good enough. We have already retired, so let's not meet. I understand, and he must know it too, and I really understand it now."

"Hmm~"

Chuanghu suddenly made a strange sound.

Jiang Lianheng turned around and asked, "What's the matter? Do you have any objections?"

Chuanghu smacked his lips, shook his head and chanted: "I see how charming the green mountains are, I guess the green mountains see me the same way!"

(End of this chapter)