"Why do you say that he has a bad temper?" Gu Xizhou asked casually.
She shrugged, "There's a rascal in our village. I don't know his name, but we all call him Xu San 'er. He used to steal from the villagers, but since we're all old neighbors, we only scolded him when we caught him. However, there was one time when he stole from the butcher's house.
"Don't you think he had a death wish? The butcher has a bad temper. Although he didn't kill him after he caught him, he raised his butcher's knife and chopped off one of Xu San 'er's fingers. "
Gu Xizhou asked her, "Did you see it with your own eyes?"
"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes." The woman seemed to be a little scared as she spoke. "The finger could have been reattached, but the butcher chopped it into three pieces. Xu San 'er's finger couldn't be reattached."
Although she said that she was scared, the woman clearly treated it as a topic of conversation. Without Gu Xizhou and the others asking, she explained the details clearly. Of course, there were some discrepancies in the details.
Gu Xizhou asked the woman, hoping that she could tell them more about the old lady's disappearance. Unfortunately, this woman only vaguely saw the old lady passing by her vegetable stall. Once Gu Xizhou asked about the details, the woman could only shake her head, indicating that she didn't know anything.
"Gu Ran, let's go. Let's ask the others." Si Yu held a statistical chart in her hand. On the chart was the name, age, and number of people of every household in Huangshui Village.
Gu Xizhou nodded, hoping to get some useful information from this woman.
Along the way, they asked a few vendors, but because it had been a long time, many of them couldn't remember clearly. Moreover, it was noon when the old lady went missing. These farmers were all cooking at home, just like Old Man Mo. Only the woman who sold vegetables had something to do that day, so she was at her stall at that time.
Gu Xizhou's group walked to the butcher's shop. There were a few pieces of meat hanging in the shop, and there were also a few plates with ribs, pork trotters, and other meats.
The tall and strong man noticed Gu Xizhou and the others walking over. He sat on a chair in the butcher shop and glanced at them. He yawned and waved his hand to chase away the flies that were flying around the butcher shop.
"Hello, can I ask you something?" Lin Hao asked.
The tall and strong man acted as if he didn't hear Lin Hao's words. After they said the same thing five or six times, the man impatiently replied, "Didn't you go to the landlord before? I'll move out in five days. Don't rush me every day. "
Lin Hao saw the impatience on the man's face. Coupled with the bloody apron he was still wearing, he felt uncomfortable in his heart. His words were stuck in his throat and he could not say anything.
Gu Xizhou and Si Yu looked at each other. Gu Xizhou carefully looked inside the butcher shop. There were pieces of meat hanging outside, and there was a small dark room inside. It seemed very small, but not very big.
Si Yu explained, "Hello, we're not here to look for the butcher. We want to ask about Old Man He's disappearance. Did you see the old lady that day?"
"No." The butcher raised his eyebrows. "This happened more than half a year ago. Aren't you from the demolition office? Why are you part-time police? "
"Isn't it because Old Man Mo refuses to move? He's afraid that if he moves, his wife won't be able to find him. "Si Yu said calmly.
"Tsk, that old man? Why don't you just look for his children? That house isn't his name anyway. "
"How do you know that house isn't Old Man Mo's?"
"Uh …" When the man heard Si Yu's question, he was a little surprised. He laughed awkwardly and said, "I heard them say that when they bought meat, they would chat for a while. The most they talked about was the demolition. I heard a lot, so I only know the general situation."
"Oh, then did anything special happen that day?"
"Nothing special. I was cooking upstairs, so I didn't see anyone." The butcher used a cloth to gently wipe the different knives on the chopping board as he said slowly.
At this moment, two women passed by to buy meat. They didn't talk much with the butcher. They just casually asked how much meat they wanted. The man in the butcher's shop casually cut a piece of meat and placed it on the scale. It was just right.
"That's pretty good. Very accurate," Gu Xizhou said casually.
The man in the butcher's shop put the meat into a plastic bag and gave it to the two women. He took the money and said, "Hey, if you sell this every day like me, I guarantee that you'll be able to pick up a piece of meat like me and weigh it with your hands to know how heavy it is."
"I don't have that ability."
They stood in front of the butcher for a while. The butcher didn't seem to have any useful information. Before they left, Gu Xizhou pointed at the small compartment in the butcher's shop and asked, "Boss, is the compartment inside filled with meat?"
The man grinned and shook his head. "No, it's a meat grinder inside. I didn't want it to be a hindrance outside, so I put it inside."
Gu Xizhou nodded and quickly left. He knocked on every door and asked if anyone had seen Old Madam He that day.
"This is the last one. If we can't find her, we can only wait for her to come find us," Xiao Nan said helplessly.
Before they knocked on the door, they heard a woman's shrill scream coming from the courtyard. The people inside seemed to be fighting fiercely.
The door suddenly opened, and a thin and small man ran out. He ran very fast, holding a white object in his hand. He slammed into Lin Hao at the door and then disappeared without a trace.
The plump woman who followed him out was waving a kitchen knife in the air. She stood at the door angrily with her hands on her hips and scolded, "Xu San Er, do you want to die? How dare you steal from my house? How dare you steal from my house? You son of a bitch! Don't let me see you again! "
"Son of a b * tch, you deserve to be unable to find a wife. Who would be unlucky to be with a man like you? Damn pervert, when my man comes back, he'll beat you to death!"
The woman was very agitated. She scolded until she was out of breath. She spat on the ground angrily. "Xu San Er, don't let me see you again. If I see you again, I'll chop you to death."
Hearing the woman's last sentence, Gu Xizhou and the others finally understood why the woman was so angry.
Thieves were despicable, and stealing people's underwear was even more despicable.
The woman cursed for a long time before she noticed Gu Xizhou and the others standing at the side. She was slightly stunned and smiled at them, as if she knew Gu Xizhou and the others.
Her voice was very gentle, as if water could be squeezed out. More importantly, it was a little sweet. "Comrade from the street office? What are you doing at my house? Are you here to inform me when the demolition fee will be paid? "
Lin Hao mechanically recovered from the woman's curses and explained in a low voice, "It's not that. We just want to ask you something."
The woman was called Wang Chunjiao. She was the most beautiful woman in the village. She had a plump figure and good facial features. She was a woman who married from another place. Hearing Lin Hao's words, she was very direct. "Ask whatever you want to ask."
"Half a year ago, when Old Madam He disappeared, did you see her?"
Wang Chunjiao thought for a while and frowned. "No, you might as well ask the guy who just ran away!"
"Why do you say that?"
"Xu San 'er doesn't do his job and doesn't do anything. Every day, he steals things on our street. He also steals vegetables. At noon, all the families go home to cook. My husband said that he saw him stealing vegetables from the stall a few times at noon."
Wang Chunjiao held a kitchen knife in one hand and said slowly.
"Then where does he live?" Gu Xizhou asked.
Wang Chunjiao pointed to a dilapidated house not far away and said, "There, that house is his."
"Can people live in that house?"
"Xu San 'er idles around all day. It's good enough that he has a house to live in." Wang Chunjiao obviously looked down on Xu San' er. Her words were filled with disdain.
Gu Xizhou and the others didn't think that the house with a collapsed roof was inhabited, so they thought it was the last family. After asking the woman, it was already late. Xu San 'er just ran away and wouldn't be back for a while. They could only go find Xu San' er tomorrow.
After running around all day, Yu Yizhou seemed to like this kind of life. During dinner, Yu Yizhou ate a lot until his stomach was round.
Lin Hao and Xiao Nan found it strange. They felt that this newcomer's adaptability was a bit exaggerated. Although he was sometimes scared, it was clear that compared to being scared, this guy always had a smile on his face. "This is the first time we've seen a newcomer like you. Your adaptability is not bad."
Yu Yizhou scratched his head and explained, "You guys don't know how long it has been since I saw the sun in the sky. I have stomach cancer and can't eat or walk. Every day, I have to rely on IV drips to stay alive while lying in bed. Having a healthy body is simply my dream."
When Fang Zhi heard Yu Yizhou's words, he nodded. He should be the one who could understand Yu Yizhou the best. His mother had once been bedridden for a long period of time. He had seen with his own eyes how illness tortured his mother, torturing her until she was no longer human.
After dinner, Yu Yizhou went to his room and found a handkerchief and basin. He found Fang Zhi, who seemed to be the easiest to talk to, and said, "That … Xiao Fang, can you accompany me downstairs to get some water to wash up?"
Fang Zhi glanced at him. Considering the time, he didn't reject Yu Yizhou's request. Gu Xizhou and Si Yu went downstairs to wash up at the same time.
The demolition office was split into two floors. The upper floor was used as a temporary dormitory. The lower floor was their office. The small courtyard inside had a kitchen and a public toilet.
After washing up, the few of them discussed for a while. However, there wasn't much useful information.
Fang Zhi slept on a chair in the room. Gu Xizhou and Si Yu slept on the bed. The main reason was that they didn't want to share a room with others. After all, they weren't familiar with each other.
The next day, Gu Xizhou and Si Yu hadn't woken up yet when they heard the sound of someone walking around the balcony. From the sound of it, it should be Yu Yizhou.
Yu Yizhou seemed to be brushing his teeth. Suddenly, he screamed and frantically knocked on Gu Xizhou and Si Yu's door.
The three of them who woke up in the room looked at each other. Si Yu walked to the door and pulled open the curtains to look at the situation outside. Suddenly, Yu Yizhou panicked and his face turned pale.
"There's a lot of blood in the courtyard!"
Following Yu Yizhou's scream, the people from the other rooms also came out.
Si Yu opened the door and walked to the balcony. He first looked at the people who came out. Lin Hao didn't come out. Then, he looked down …
In the courtyard, there was blood all over the ground. However, there wasn't a corpse on the ground.
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