The Case of Love

Chapter 25: First Visit to the Garbage Dump

Like Wu Yan, Wang Chunjiang was very happy to confirm that the deceased was not his friend. However, he was also confused because Zhao Xiaogang had not contacted him for many days and his phone was always turned off when he called.

Li Zhisong checked and found that Zhao Xiaogang had no recent record of taking a plane or train. He also retrieved the surveillance footage at the entrance of Zhao Xiaogang's company and found that he last appeared in the company three days ago. He left the company and got into a taxi.

Li Zhisong found the taxi owner, Master Song, based on the license plate number and showed him the video. Master Song thought for a while and quickly told him that he had an impression of Zhao Xiaogang because the place he was going to that day was very special, a garbage dump in the suburbs. He was curious and asked him what he was doing there, but he said nothing.

"Boss, I'll go to the garbage dump and check. Maybe there's a clue there!"

"Okay, let's go together!"

Li Zhisong was driving again. The three of them got in the car and headed straight for the garbage dump on the outskirts of Beijing.

If it weren't for the case, Su Xiaohan would never come to such a place in her life. Near the landfill, kitchen waste, rotten vegetable leaves and other debris were intertwined, filled with a rotten, disgusting smell, which made her suffer so much that she wished she could block all her five senses and turn a blind eye, a nose, and a heart.

Zhou Yifeng took out three thick masks from his pocket and handed one to Su Xiaohan and Li Zhisong respectively.

"Policewoman, if I don't give you a mask, you won't just go there like this, right?"

Su Xiaohan blushed and remembered what happened the day before. She quickly took the mask and put it on.

Hearing the boss call Su Xiaohan "Police Flower", Li Zhisong was stunned. Just when he was about to ask what was going on, Zhou Yifeng had already put on a mask and walked towards the garbage dump.

Li Zhisong sighed sadly, "This crappy place, I'm about to be suffocated to death by this mask before I'm suffocated to death!"

Su Xiaohan followed Zhou Yifeng, wondering as she walked, what would Zhao Xiaogang do in a place like this? Could he be picking up trash?

Not far away, in front of a pile of garbage, a man in tattered clothes, wearing gloves and a mask, was rummaging through something.

Although they couldn't see his face clearly, from his gray hair and slightly hunched body, they guessed that he must be quite old.

"Boss, this place is so remote and there are still people picking up trash!" Li Zhisong was puzzled.

"It must be because of the pressure of life. Bottles, cartons, these things can all be sold for money." Zhou Yifeng looked at the man thoughtfully.

"Captain Zhou, if he had been picking up trash here all the time, he might have met Zhao Xiaogang that day." Su Xiaohan suddenly thought of it.

"That's right, you can ask him when he comes out." Seeing the man concentrating on searching for valuables, Zhou Yifeng couldn't bear to disturb him.

After a while, the man came out of the garbage dump and was shocked to see the three of them.

When he got closer, he said to them, "Look at you guys, are you here to pick up trash like me?"

"No. Let's come and take a look." Zhou Yifeng replied.

"Things have been really strange lately. Someone came that day, dressed neatly, and it was obvious at first glance that he was not the same person as us." The man sighed.

"Do you remember what that man looks like? Also, are there other people here picking up trash with you?" Zhou Yifeng grasped the key point in his words. "I didn't look closely at that man, so I really don't remember what he looks like. There were two other people picking up trash with me, and they often come here." The man took a look at the things in the bag, "Let's not talk about it for now, I have to go back."

"Wait a minute!" Su Xiaohan hurriedly called him, "Can you please help us check, is this the person?"

Zhou Yifeng understood and showed him the surveillance video on his phone.

The man stared at the screen for a while, then recalled, "It seems to be him. I can't remember clearly."

"Did this person say anything to you?" Su Xiaohan asked again.

The man shook his head: "He didn't say anything. He just came over and looked around, as if he was looking for something. But it was definitely not garbage." After the man finished speaking, he smiled self-deprecatingly.

"Looking for what?" Su Xiaohan muttered to herself, what would Zhao Xiaogang be looking for in the landfill?

"I want to ask, where are the two people who picked up trash with you?" Zhou Yifeng asked politely.

"I really don't know about that. They come here almost every day. Sometimes they come early, sometimes they come late. It's just that I haven't seen Qiangzi for two days. I guess he found some good place." The man smiled at Zhou Yifeng and prepared to leave.

Looking at his limping figure, Su Xiaohan felt a little sad. If it weren't for the pressure of life, who would make a living by picking up garbage in a place like this!
"Captain Zhou, should we wait a little longer? Maybe the other two people may know something. There must be something fishy about Zhao Xiaogang coming to a place like this!" Su Xiaohan was very sure that the landfill would be a breakthrough.

"It's still early, let's wait a little longer." Zhou Yifeng agreed.

"Boss, let's not stand here, let's go away, this smell!" Even through the thick mask, Li Zhisong could still feel the pungent smell coming.

Zhou Yifeng was also choked by the smoke, so the three of them left the landfill together and returned to the car to wait.

They had observed that there were no cameras nearby. If not, they could check the surveillance footage and all the problems would be solved. Now they could only wait for the other two people who often came here to pick up trash to come over and ask them if they had any new clues.

"Boss, if you and Xiaohan are tired, you can take a nap. I'll watch over you and call you when someone comes." Seeing Zhou Yifeng looking tired, Li Zhisong said considerately.

"No, I'm not sleepy. If Xiaohan is tired, you can take a rest." Zhou Yifeng looked back at Su Xiaohan.

"I'm not sleepy either, Captain Zhou!" Although touched by their concern, Su Xiaohan didn't want to be treated specially.

Zhou Yifeng said nothing more, and took out his cell phone to call Ma Nan. Ma Nan reported to Zhou Yifeng that none of the recent missing persons cases matched the characteristics of the deceased, and no DNA matching or high matching with the deceased was found in the database. It can be seen that it is more difficult to start with the deceased.

"Ma Nan, check where the car under Zhao Xiaogang's name is now, and then ask Wang Chunjiang where else Zhao Xiaogang often goes besides going to the company. Check the surveillance footage." Zhou Yifeng hung up the phone after assigning new tasks to Ma Nan and others.

"Captain Zhou, what Wang Chunjiang and Wu Yan said don't match up. One of them said that Zhao Xiaogang seldom goes on business trips, and the other said that he goes on business trips frequently. I think what they said is true. The problem is that Zhao Xiaogang lied to Wu Yan and made her mistakenly believe that he was on a business trip. Usually, a man will use this excuse when he has someone else outside." Su Xiaohan paused and looked at Zhou Yifeng's reaction.

"Go on." Zhou Yifeng gestured.

"So, if we find this mistress, is it possible that we can find Zhao Xiaogang?

(End of this chapter)