Chapter 376: What's Wrong with Staying Somewhere Nice?

Such topics are usually touched upon lightly; to continue would be to go too deep.

For the three of them, who frequently use their brains, such conversation is equivalent to relaxing their nerves and giving their minds a proper rest.

Why is it that fast-paced workplaces are always full of gossip?

Isn't chatting about gossip just to relax the brain and kill some boring time?

This is also a way of combining work and rest.

"Dazhang, at Zhang Chao's mother's house just now, did you notice a detail?" Lu Zhongxin brought the topic back.

"You mean those three bottles of mineral water," Yu Dazhang said, squinting his eyes and leaning lazily against the back of the chair:

"I also found it a bit strange, but that doesn't prove she has a problem."

The mineral water the woman produced at the time, though just an ordinary brand common on the market, revealed her living habits through this detail.

Only someone who drinks mineral water long-term would unconsciously bring it out to entertain guests.

Otherwise, she would have simply poured boiled water or made tea.

There is a saying: The guest follows the host's convenience.

What a guest drinks in the host's home depends entirely on their family's usual living habits.

Yu Dazhang had also considered that it might have been bought by Zhang Chao.

But if Zhang Chao wanted to show filial piety, there was no need to choose this method; giving money directly would have been better.

Moreover, from the furnishings in the woman's home, one could see that her life was very frugal.

This formed a sharp contrast with her habit of drinking bottled mineral water every day, which was truly somewhat contradictory and strange.

"What's wrong with drinking some mineral water?" Zhang Sen interjected:

"What era is this? Mineral water isn't some high-consumption drink; many families drink it year-round."

"You make sense," Yu Dazhang smiled:

"But you have to look at who the person is, what age group they are in, and what their usual living habits are."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Sen fell silent.

He was obviously recalling everything he had seen at Zhang Chao's mother's house.

Judging by age, the woman must be in her fifties; people in this age group have endured hardships.

Unless they have been extremely wealthy, they will all have frugal habits.

Treating mineral water as drinking water is very common among young people, but it is rare among women in that age group.

"It could also have been prepared for Zhang Chao and his wife," Zhang Sen proposed another hypothesis:

"After we arrived, she just happened to bring it out to entertain us guests."

The reason Lu Zhongxin brought up this matter only after leaving Jianning was that he had made a similar hypothesis.

Although this counts as a detail, such an inconspicuous little thing proves nothing.

"Maybe," Yu Dazhang didn't argue either.

At the time, he only felt it was a bit strange, and that was all.

One can suspect, one can hypothesize, but there must be factual basis.

One cannot simply take her away for interrogation just because Zhang Chao's mother served them mineral water.

They chatted on and off like this, and Yu Dazhang even dozed off in the middle.

Originally, the three of them had agreed to take turns driving, which would also prevent fatigue driving.

But when it was Yu Dazhang's turn, the other two refused to let him drive no matter what.

In their eyes, a person of Yu Dazhang's build was not suitable for long-distance driving; what if he suddenly got sleepy and fell asleep right on the steering wheel?

At 8:30 PM, the group arrived at Yangcheng Railway Station.

After reuniting with Ma Jian and Liu Miao, the group found a restaurant to have dinner.

After the long journey and not eating for a long time, Yu Dazhang was so hungry his steps felt unsteady.

Even so, he held back and waited until Qi Fang and the other six arrived before starting the meal.

Criminal police don't have many formalities when eating; everyone was just trying to fill their stomachs.

After finishing the meal, Yu Dazhang sighed in satisfaction, then looked at Ma Jian and Liu Miao:

"Do you two live near the station?"

"No," Ma Jian shook his head:

"To avoid drawing attention, we have been staying in a small inn far from the station; after you called me, we checked out."

Checked out?

Yu Dazhang remembered he said he was coming to find them, not to take them away; why check out?

Seeing his confused expression, Ma Jian immediately explained:

"The conditions in that small inn where we stayed were too poor; they couldn't compare to a star-rated hotel, so we just..."

"Enough, enough," Yu Dazhang quickly raised his hand to interrupt:

"Checking out is fine; it will be more convenient for us to act together if we stay together."

He had to interrupt; otherwise...

Because he had already guessed Ma Jian's meaning.

Previously, when handling cases in S Province, the few of them had all stayed in star-rated hotels.

There was no choice; their families had the means.

So in Ma Jian and the others' view, Yu Dazhang, being away from home, could not possibly stay in a small inn; at the very least, it would have to be a three-star hotel or above.

Since he had already arrived, for these two to still stay in that kind of small inn would be purely suffering unnecessarily.

Yu Dazhang then counted; including himself, there were seventeen people in total.

"You've already found a hotel, right?" he asked, looking at Ma Jian.

Since Ma Jian and the others had already made up their minds to enjoy the good life following the big shot, the hotel had probably been picked out long ago.

"If you ask me, the Oriental Hotel diagonally across from the train station is a great choice."

Ma Jian introduced:

"Staying there, you can get a clear view of the whole train station from upstairs, and the location is especially good, with convenient transportation too."

It really wasn't bad… but Yu Dazhang felt it was still better to ask in detail.

"How many stars?" he asked.

"Five-star." Ma Jian answered without any pressure:

"Absolutely great value for the money."

He's treating me like some tacky nouveau riche… Yu Dazhang said through gritted teeth:

"What about the other hotels?"

"There's a four-star one nearby too." Ma Jian immediately realized he'd started too high, and quickly changed his tune:

"That one can also see the train station, and the location isn't bad either."

If it really won't work, then just stay at a small inn… Yu Dazhang suddenly felt a bit weary.

He did have a girlfriend who wasn't short on money, but that didn't make him a sucker.

Seeing Yu Dazhang's expression turn sour, Ma Jian leaned in and whispered:

"I was recommending based on your previous standards. How about… we find a small inn?"

"That won't be necessary." Yu Dazhang waved his hand:

"Let's go to that four-star one. You lead the way."

If the case gets solved, even if they really stayed at a five-star hotel, the leaders would approve the reimbursement—and with smiles on their faces too.

If the case doesn't get solved, then no matter how much money they saved, it's useless. In the leaders' eyes, every penny you spent was wasted.

The police officers from the provincial department standing nearby heard every word clearly, and at first they all thought the two were joking.

But once they arrived at the place, they realized this wasn't a joke at all—this fatty had really brought them to stay at a star-rated hotel.

Can this even be reimbursed?

And where does he get the nerve to stay here? At the end of the day, he's not going to make us pay out of our own pockets, is he?

Hotel front desk.

"Um…" Qi Fang pulled Yu Dazhang's arm and stepped aside:

"Staying here exceeds the standard. Let's switch to another place."

"We're staying here." Yu Dazhang refused:

"The amount over the standard, I'll cover myself."

Cover it himself? Qi Fang curled his lip.

We came to Yangcheng with you to work a case, not to go sightseeing.

And we're office workers at the end of the day—we can't be expected to pour our own money into the job too, can we?

(End of this chapter)