The house that opened the door was the neighbor of the house with the lantern.
A man walked out of the door. Under the moonlight, one could see that the man was in his fifties or sixties. He spat at the house with the lantern.
"Bah, it's so noisy at night. Can't you let people sleep?"
"The man looks angry. Why do you think Zhou Lixia went into the house next door?" Li Hui asked curiously.
"How would I know?"
"If only we could go in and have a look," Li Hui muttered.
"How can we go in without a search warrant?" Han Bin asked.
"Are we just going to wait here?" Li Hui sighed.
Han Bin shrugged. He was also helpless.
"Do you think the man who just came out knows something?" Li Hui asked.
Han Bin hesitated for a moment and stood up. "Let's go and talk to the man."
Li Hui patted his pants and followed.
"Uncle, it's so late. Why are you still outside?" Han Bin smiled.
"It's too noisy at home. I can't stay here."
"You have a guest?" Han Bin walked closer and handed the man a cigarette.
The man sniffed it and pointed at the house with the lantern. "He has a guest."
"How do you know?" Li Hui asked.
"His girlfriend is here. Where is she? She made a lot of noise and everyone in the yard could hear her clearly." The man's expression was complicated. There was both envy and jealousy.
Han Bin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Zhou Lixia really couldn't stay idle. She came to meet her boyfriend in the middle of the night.
Han Bin lit a cigarette and asked the man beside him, "Uncle, what's your name?"
"My surname is Bao," the man answered and asked, "What are you two doing?"
"We're policemen." Han Bin showed his police badge.
"Oh, why are the police here?" the man asked curiously.
"We're here to check the temporary residence permit. We happened to see you and wanted to know more about it."
"It's not easy for you to work so late at night."
"It's my duty to serve the people," Han Bin said with a smile.
"Hmph, the common people have a lot of things to worry about. Do you think you can take care of all of them?" The man surnamed Bao sighed.
"Uncle, we really don't have three heads and six arms, but as long as we encounter it, we will definitely take care of it. If you have any problems, you can also tell us," Han Bin said with a sincere expression.
Uncle Bao glanced at Han Bin before pointing at the family with the lanterns. "Are you going to interfere with this?"
"As long as it affects your life, we can handle it," Han Bin said.
"What do you mean it doesn't affect me? I can hear it from my own yard. It's so loud. Don't you think it's annoying?" Uncle Bao grumbled.
He was probably going to suffer from insomnia again tonight.
"If they affect you, you can file a complaint against them," Han Bin suggested.
"You can even complain about such a thing?"
"Article 46 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Noise Pollution states that one should control the volume or take other effective measures when engaging in indoor activities." Han Bin paused for a moment before continuing.
"Once this rule is violated, the offender will be given a warning according to Article 18 of the Law on Public Security Administration and Punishment. If the offender fails to make amends after the warning, the offender will be fined between 200 and 500 RMB."
"Can the police handle this?" Uncle Bao was still in disbelief.
"Aren't we right here?"
Uncle Bao hesitated for a moment before throwing the cigarette butt on the ground and stomping on it. "I'm going to file a complaint against him for disturbing my life."
"No problem, I'll take care of it for you tomorrow," Han Bin said with a straight face.
Zhou Lixia had a close relationship with this family. It was very likely that she was contacting Zhou Tianrong through this family. Han Bin was looking for a legitimate reason to go in and investigate.
"Uncle Bao, how many people are there in this family?"
"Four. My son's family of three lives in the south. Only Zou Huaiyuan is left."
"What's the name of Zou Huaiyuan's girlfriend?"
"Zhou Lixia."
"Do you know Zhou Lixia?"
"We're from the same village. We've known each other for decades."
"How many people are there in Zhou Lixia's family?"
"Two, and a son."
"Do you know her son?"
"We met, but we've never talked."
"Has her son been to Zou Huaiyuan's house?" Han Bin asked.
"Never." Uncle Bao shook his head.
"Officer, I'll leave this to you. I'll be going back first. Don't tell anyone that I was the one who reported them."
…
The next morning.
Zou Huaiyuan's door opened at six in the morning. Zou Huaiyuan stood at the door and stretched. He walked around and waved at the door.
Then, Zhou Lixia walked out. She looked around and said softly, "I'm leaving."
"Take care." Zou Huaiyuan patted her arm.
After watching Zhou Lixia leave, Zou Huaiyuan closed the door. He wanted to go home and sleep.
…
Knock, knock, knock …
After some time, someone knocked on the door.
Zou Huaiyuan could not sleep well in broad daylight. He was startled awake. "Who is it?"
"Open the door."
Zou Huaiyuan sat up and walked to the door. "Who's outside?"
"The police."
"Why are the police here?" Zou Huaiyuan was confused, but he still opened the door. There were two young men standing outside.
"Are you really the police?"
The two men standing outside were Han Bin and Li Hui.
Han Bin took out his police ID. "This is my ID."
Zou Huaiyuan took it and glanced at it. He seemed nervous. "Officer, why are you looking for me?"
"Someone reported that your house often makes noise at night. We're here to deal with it," Han Bin said as he walked into the yard.
"Police comrade, who reported me?"
Han Bin waved his hand to indicate that he should not ask. "Who was here last night?"
"Me and a friend."
"What's your friend's name?"
"Do you have to ask?"
"Routine questioning to verify the situation."
"Zhou Lixia is my girlfriend."
"Why is she here?"
"She came to visit."
Li Hui said with a serious face. "Be honest. Don't lie. We will confront her. If you say different things, then you are deliberately hiding the problem."
"She came to my house and made a phone call. We chatted for a while and then went to bed." Zou Huaiyuan smiled. He was a little proud and a little embarrassed.
"Who did she call?"
"Her son."
"Whose phone did she call?"
"Mine. Why?" Zou Huaiyuan was puzzled.
"I need to verify," Han Bin said.
Zou Huaiyuan hesitated for a moment and gave the phone to Han Bin.
Han Bin looked through the call log. Zou Huaiyuan had only called him once last night, at 8: 35 pm. Han Bin secretly noted down the phone number.
"What's the name of her son?" Han Bin asked.
"Zhou Tianrong."
"Do you know him?"
"Not familiar."
Han Bin returned the phone to Zou Huaiyuan and asked, "Have you seen him recently?"
"I haven't seen Zhou Tianrong much," Zou Huaiyuan said.
"Aren't you friends with Zhou Lixia? Logically speaking, she should be very familiar with her son, "Li Hui said.
"How should I put it?" Zou Huaiyuan sighed and hesitated for a moment.
"She doesn't want others to know about our relationship. After all, we're not young anymore. Especially her son, he's famous for being a hooligan. If he knows that we're together, he'll turn our family upside down."
"Okay, we have said what should be said and verified what should be verified. Be careful in the future. Don't make too much noise at night. It's not good to disturb the neighbors' rest," Han Bin said.
"Officer, let me ask you, was it the old man surnamed Bao who reported me?" Zou Huaiyuan pointed to the yard next to him.
"You don't need to know this. Just pay more attention in the future."
"Even if you don't say it, I know. It must be that old man. He saw Lixia come to my house and must be very envious." Zou Huaiyuan snorted.
"We are all neighbors. It's better to be harmonious. There's no need to make everyone unhappy." Han Bin said and walked out of the yard.
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