Chapter 943: The Case Is More Complex

"Hmm~ shout~ shout!"

Li Xuewu saw that he was really about to cry, so he teased him: "If you shout louder, you won't be wronged~"

"I am really wronged~"

Sheng Shaowei couldn't tell if Li Xuewu was teasing him or being serious now.

Zheng Fuhua looked him up and down, nodded to Li Xuewu, and asked: "An acquaintance?"

"Heh, half-acquaintance."

Li Xuewu looked at Sheng Shaowei and explained to Zheng Fuhua: "In the summer, I bought goldfish for my daughter to play with, and I got them from him."

"Director Zheng."

Lai Shanchuan had already walked over from the water's edge when he saw Li Xuewu coming.

The corpse had been salvaged for a while and was now parked at the ice hole, with a forensic doctor conducting an investigation.

He walked up to the two of them, first greeted Zheng Fuhua, then looked at Li Xuewu with some hesitation, but still extended his hand and said: "Team Leader Li."

"Just call me by name; it sounds awkward to hear you call me that."

Li Xuewu shook his hand, then pointed to his hand jokingly and asked: "You didn't touch the corpse, did you?"

"Sigh~"

Lai Shanchuan saw that Li Xuewu was generous and didn't care about the past, so he stopped being stiff.

With a long sigh, he said with exhaustion all over his face: "Team Leader Li, I really can't laugh anymore. This case has made me physically and mentally exhausted, unable to sleep at night."

"It's good that you've come."

He looked at Zheng Fuhua anxiously and said: "Director Zheng, let's look at the scene."

"Hmm."

Zheng Fuhua nodded, walked while gesturing to Sheng Shaowei, who was standing to the side with a crying face, and asked: "He discovered it?"

"Yes."

Lai Shanchuan glanced at Sheng Shaowei, accompanied Zheng Fuhua to the edge of the pond, and said while walking: "Inquired, a worker from the park management office."

Li Xuewu naturally knew Sheng Shaowei's identity, but Lai Shanchuan was talking, so he naturally couldn't interrupt.

Coming here today was also at Zheng Fuhua's invitation to "take a look"; it wasn't his case, and he wasn't a person from the branch bureau anymore, so he had to keep his mouth shut.

Even if he knew Sheng Shaowei, even if Sheng Shaowei was innocent, there was no need for him to rush to talk nonsense here.

Truth is truth, falsehood is falsehood; Sheng Shaowei is an ordinary commoner, as long as he doesn't get involved in politics, this case won't get involved in politics, and he absolutely won't mess around.

Saying that Longxugou was a matter of the fifties; the remaining Jin Yuchi was filled in for the most part, and the remaining part of the pond had the look of a park.

The surrounding residents' houses didn't have the chaotic scene of disrepair as before, but anyone with a little money knew how to tidy up.

Of course, this side belongs to the Southern City area; even earlier, it belonged to the territory outside the city, a place where peddlers and poor people stayed.

After more than ten years of development and changes, the flat-roofed houses are still those flat-roofed houses, just more densely populated and the road surface is flatter.

Don't think that the population of the Four Nine Cities was that large at this time; seven million people refers to the entire city.

There weren't that many people truly living in the Four Nine Cities, so saying housing wasn't enough and work was hard to allocate refers to the city.

So the old city area like the Southern City looks just like the rural areas of later generations, but much better than the rural areas of this era.

At least there are brick and tile houses.

The residents who have lived here for generations mostly work in the city, and the female corpse discovered by Sheng Shaowei today is actually from this side.

"It should have been a long time; although the degree of decay is relatively light, the physical damage is severe."

Lai Shanchuan stood outside the forensic isolation and introduced: "She should have suffered blunt force trauma to the head before death, then was put into a sack, tied with rope, and attached to a stone to sink into the pond."

"Identity confirmed?"

Zheng Fuhua avoided the reflection on the ice, narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at the corpse, and asked: "Is the deceased Zhang Shuqin?"

"Yes, it has been compared with the wanted photo."

Lai Shanchuan nodded, took a photo from his secretary behind him, and handed it to Zheng Fuhua.

Zheng Fuhua didn't take it, waved his hand, and signaled to hand it to Li Xuewu.

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows when he saw the photo Lai Shanchuan handed over; he didn't really want to take it.

Looking at the photo and then looking at the corpse is actually a very fragmented experience.

But there were only the three of them here, and if he didn't take it, it wouldn't be very good.

"Looking at it is useless; I don't know her anyway."

Although Li Xuewu said so, he still took the photo and looked at it.

"Hmm, she's quite pretty; I liked this kind when I was in middle school."

"..."

Zheng Fuhua looked back at Li Xuewu speechlessly and held back from speaking.

Lai Shanchuan couldn't help it, grinned, and said: "Your taste is somewhat... hard to describe."

"Just talking about the photo~"

Li Xuewu shrugged his shoulders, shook the photo in his hand to show the two, and said: "Anyway, I liked this kind of big sister when I was in school."

"Put it away~ I know you're amazing!"

Zheng Fuhua pointed at Lai Shanchuan and said: "Tell him the basic situation of the case. Now we need psychology; he plays with this, maybe it will have miraculous effects."

"I think so too."

Lai Shanchuan said with a bitter smile: "My mind isn't enough; I should have invited Team Leader Li long ago."

"Hey! Are you scolding me?"

Li Xuewu looked at the photo again, handed it to Lai Shanchuan's secretary, and joked: "What do you mean play? We call this research, high-tech, it's been published in books!"

Zheng Fuhua stood with his hands behind his back looking at the scene, too lazy to bother with him, knowing that Li Xuewu was finding words to relax his nerves.

You must have a big heart to do this line of work; he has seen scenes of a room full of people hanging, and he has seen disembowelment and dismemberment.

After a long time, it is inevitable to have psychological pressure, so one must learn to relax and adjust oneself.

The medical profession will also have similar situations; for example, during surgery, they say all sorts of things, and some even talk about what to eat for dinner while cutting.

They are all old hands, so they naturally understand Li Xuewu's intention, so no one at the scene felt his joking was abrupt.

Lai Shanchuan's pressure was huge, his face was full of mud, and the wrinkles on his forehead were about to be squeezed into the shape of mountains and rivers.

Having received Zheng Fuhua's explanation, and seeing Li Xuewu taking the initiative to help him relieve pressure, Lai Shanchuan also knew that he had agreed to help.

"Speaking of this case~ the branch bureau has really lost all its face~"

Lai Shanchuan pointed to his own cheeks to show Li Xuewu and said: "The anger has swollen them all up."

"From the case on October 29th, the filing on the 30th, until now, we have been led by the nose, played around in circles!"

He let out an angry breath and shook his head, saying: "The case was handled by the station at first, then step by step it was raised to now, with Director Zheng in charge and me handling the case. You tell me~"

"Hmm, it's unlucky enough."

Li Xuewu raised his head slightly and looked toward the corpse; the eyeballs had been eaten by the small fish in the water, leaving only broken flesh hanging on the facial skin, without any beauty from the photo.

Only now did he feel that what people said about so-called red faces being nothing but pink skeletons really meant something.

"It's more than just unlucky!"

Lai Shanchuan is a full division chief; now it has been raised to his level. If the case still can't be solved, a whole string of people from the branch bureau will have to be scraped.

"This is fucking bad luck opening the door for bad luck, bad luck to the extreme!"

"Sigh, forget it, talk about the case, please help more, I'm really at the end of my rope."

He waved his hand, signaled the criminal investigation section officer behind him to introduce the case to Li Xuewu, and took out a cigarette to hand to Li Xuewu to light.

"Hello Team Leader Li."

The officer first saluted, then seeing Li Xuewu nod, began to report: "Zhang Shuqin, female, 26 years old, cashier at the Jiaodaokou Supply and Marketing Cooperative, living in Qian'er Hutong..."

"Hiss~"

Li Xuewu found the name of this workplace very familiar; isn't this Director Ma's unit?

Hearing Li Xuewu's reaction, the officer looked up at him, not knowing what was wrong.

Li Xuewu raised his head slightly to signal him: "It's okay, continue."

"Yes."

The officer looked at the two leaders who were also smoking and continued to report: "On October 29th of this year, Zhang Shuqin and a colleague went to the Dongsitiao Credit Cooperative to pick up 5,000 yuan in payment, and disappeared that day."

"There are three parties reporting the case: one is Zhang Shuqin's husband Yu Lanfang, one is Zhang Shuqin's workplace, the Jiaodaokou Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and one is the Dongsitiao Credit Cooperative."

The officer looked at Lai Shanchuan and asked for instructions: "Chief, should I report the three parties reporting the case?"

"I'll say it."

Lai Shanchuan took a hard puff of his cigarette and said to Li Xuewu: "Zhang Shuqin's husband Yu Lanfang reported that his wife was missing; this was the case received by the station."

"The Supply and Marketing Cooperative reported that their cashier had disappeared with money; this was the case received by the Jiaodaokou station."

"The Credit Cooperative reported that they received a fake withdrawal voucher and encountered fraud, involving 50,000 yuan; this was the case received by the Dongsitiao side."

After saying the three parties, he slapped the back of his hand in regret and said: "This is it; one person missing involved three stations, and finally it was raised to our branch bureau."

Li Xuewu understood this raising very well; it should be based on the main location where the case occurred to determine the unit responsible for investigation, rather than the jurisdiction of the missing person.

From the fact that Zhang Shuqin was discovered dead here now, it's hindsight to say he's unlucky.

If it had been discovered at the time, this case would mostly have started from here; people are the root of the case.

"Tell Team Leader Li about the process of the case."

Lai Shanchuan waved his hand at the officer with some anger and signaled him to continue.

On October 30th, the Supply and Marketing Cooperative didn't wait for cashier Zhang Shuqin to go to work, and didn't wait for the payment, so they sent someone to look for her at home.

But the people from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative found her home, and she wasn't there, and the money wasn't there.

Zhang Shuqin's lover Yu Lanfang said she hadn't returned all night, and he was waiting for his wife to come home for dinner last night.

He was sure his lover hadn't returned since she went to work yesterday morning, thinking she was on temporary duty."

Upon learning that his wife had disappeared with a huge sum of money, Yu Lanfang chose to call and report the case at that time.

After the case was raised for management, the branch bureau sent people to investigate all clues along the way, as well as the withdrawal situation at the credit cooperative.

After excluding other possibilities, the focus was placed on Zhang Shuqin's lover.

The criminal investigation group reviewed and believed that Yu Lanfang's behavior was quite abnormal; his wife hadn't returned all night, yet he didn't call to inquire despite having a phone at home.

And the first time he discovered his wife was missing, he chose to report the case instead of going out to look for her.

According to the logic of ordinary people, there is an instinct to cover up for relatives; this continuous abnormal behavior made the criminal investigation group very suspicious.

So after the review and determination of the case raising, Yu Lanfang was detained and reviewed by the branch bureau.

Don't think this is making a mountain out of a molehill; the complexity of this case was stressful for the investigators at the time.

First it was a fraud case, then it was a case of absconding with money, and the amount was huge; reviewing the suspect was what should have been done.

Just when they were interrogating Yu Lanfang and thought they could open a breakthrough from him, a new situation appeared.

On November 3rd, Zhang Shuqin mailed a letter from the Zhili Zhili Hotel to the colleague who went to pick up the money with her on the 29th.

In the letter, she apologized to her colleague, saying she had caused trouble, but she really needed the money, so she was going far away and changing her name.

After the letter was received, the employee didn't open it to read, but handed it directly to the investigation team. Criminal investigation personnel immediately contacted the Zhili side for support.

However, the powerful department personnel on the Zhili side rushed to the scene to check, but there was no such person, and there was no accommodation record for Zhang Shuqin at all.

The appearance of this situation directly disrupted the criminal investigation group's pace and direction of investigation.

Just when the criminal investigation group organized members to go to Zhili to unfold the pursuit, another situation appeared.

On November 16th, Zhang Shuqin mailed a letter from the Jin Ling Friendship Hotel to her lover Yu Lanfang.

Unlike the handling method of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative personnel, Yu Lanfang, who had already been released and returned home, suddenly received his wife's letter and opened it to view it directly.

The result was that he was once again brought back to the bureau by the criminal investigation group that was tailing him.

Such handling was not only because of his way of handling the letter, but also included the content of the letter.

Zhang Shuqin mentioned in the letter that she had arrived in Jin Ling the day before yesterday, failed to wait for her husband, and had gone to the next address to wait according to the original plan.

The criminal investigation group was suddenly in chaos, and Yu Lanfang was also confused; he was identified as Zhang Shuqin's accomplice and re-interrogated.

Although Jin Ling had already mentioned in the letter that she was leaving, the criminal investigation group still contacted local brother units to help investigate.

The result was the same: no such person, no news.

This era has no surveillance cameras, and even less talk of real-name systems; to stay in a hotel, you only need an introduction letter and a household registration book.

There are no photos on the household registration book, and there are none on the introduction letter either.

So as long as the behavior doesn't show suspicious actions, no one will actively investigate.

This has brought great trouble to the investigation of the case; it is no longer a case within the scope of the Four Nine Cities.

Just when the criminal investigation group was interrogating Yu Lanfang and waiting for new clues, a letter was mailed from Yangcheng to the branch bureau.

On December 1st, Zhang Shuqin wrote from the Yangcheng Hotel, saying that her lover was innocent and didn't know about it, so please don't make things difficult for him; she was ready to cross the sea and would never come back.

Appearing twice in a row with fake letters, even though they knew this investigation would be useless, the criminal investigation group still coordinated with Yangcheng brother units to help investigate.

The result was no different from what they expected: no such person.

What exactly is the situation? If it were really as the letter said, then Yu Lanfang, even if he didn't know, should have known to go to Jin Ling to meet up.

But now that they have interrogated for so many days, Yu Lanfang no longer has a reason to lie.

It's not that they trust Yu Lanfang, but that they trust their own interrogation methods.

Only now did they invite Li Xuewu; it wasn't because his technology was superb and he was very hard to invite, but because the branch bureau had applied for the strongest interrogation force from the ministry to support them at the time.

As the person in charge, Zheng Fuhua could already be very certain that Yu Lanfang should have no room to lie.

And the female corpse discovered by the park management office workers today had been playing with them for more than two months, tossing and turning across half of China, and had already gone abroad.

The first sentence Lai Shanchuan said after getting the photo comparison result was: Truly fucking saw a ghost!

Previously, they thought they could find clues from Yu Lanfang's mouth, but as a result, the corpse was discovered, and more than two months of work was in vain.

It was indeed in vain; they had been convinced that the fleeing criminal was hiding in this ice.

And the interrogation of Yu Lanfang was even more wrong upon wrong; from the beginning, all directions were wrong, and the work done was all in vain.

Everything has to be overturned and started over, returning to the origin of the case to start again.

But more than two months have passed, and because of the wrong direction of investigation, many things will not match up when looking back.

Wasting huge manpower and material resources, if it becomes a cold case, Zheng Fuhua really might get his wish and retire early to provide for his old age.

"Speak."

Just as the sun was setting in the west and the ice surface was emitting brilliant colors, Zheng Fuhua, who had been silent for a long time, opened his mouth and asked Li Xuewu: "What do you think?"

"Just stand and watch~"

Li Xuewu raised his right hand and rubbed his eyebrows, saying helplessly: "I don't want to watch, and I don't understand. If I say she committed suicide, I guess you wouldn't be willing either."

"Suicide..."

Lai Shanchuan looked at the scene, the big hole in the back of the corpse's head, the hands and feet tied with rope, and the sack that was tightly tied at the mouth after being salvaged, and directly fell into silence and doubted life.

"I also want her to have committed suicide, but where did the money go?"

"Stop talking nonsense~"

Zheng Fuhua let out a deep breath, looked at the forensic doctor who was still busy on the ice, and said: "If you can demonstrate to me how to tie the bag yourself while being tied hand and foot, I don't mind submitting a report to close the case."

While speaking, he threw the cigarette butt in his hand on the ground, raised his foot to step on it, and said: "Even if we can't find that money, it doesn't matter."

"Don't, the weather is too cold."

Li Xuewu shrugged his shoulders and said: "It's not appropriate to go into the water naked, so let's not close the case; let's continue to look for the money."

"How to find it?"

Zheng Fuhua turned his head and gestured to Zhang Shuqin's corpse, saying: "I don't believe there is 50,000 yuan in cash under the ice, and even if there is, I don't have the ability to salvage it."

This goldfish pond is fucking huge, and the ice is more than a meter thick in winter. If you really break the ice to find money, not to mention the investment of manpower and material resources, it is estimated that even if it were found here, the cost would far exceed 50,000.

If it weren't found, the responsibility for the lost money would be even greater.

"So, we can only continue to investigate."

Zheng Fuhua looked at the two of them and said: "And we must investigate as soon as possible. Although two months have been delayed, after all, new clues have appeared."

"I can only give three suggestions."

Li Xuewu said seriously: "First, figure out the time of death of the corpse and judge the scope involved in this case."

"Second, figure out the cause of death and judge the murderer's behavioral motivation and criminal characteristics."

"Third, figure out whether the money was really taken by the deceased, where she went, and where she disappeared."

Li Xuewu looked at Zheng Fuhua and said: "I don't believe there is 50,000 yuan in cash hidden in this water, but it doesn't prevent me from helping you come up with an idea to try and salvage it."

"What idea?"

Zheng Fuhua frowned slightly and said: "The premise is already stated to you; the bureau doesn't have this budget to play with throwing money into the water."

"It won't cost a penny."

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows and gestured to the crowd watching on the shore, saying: "In a while, let the comrades go over and remind them, saying that there might be 50,000 yuan in cash hidden under this ice, and tell them not to come here to fish."

"..."

Hearing him say this, everyone was speechless.

"This move is really fucking too... too good."

Lai Shanchuan timely took back the word he was about to say and changed it to a "good" word.

Zheng Fuhua's mouth also twitched, and the look in his eyes toward Li Xuewu was full of strangeness.

He now felt incomparably that his decision to insist on absorbing Li Xuewu into the team was very correct!

If such a difficult bad guy flowed into society, once out of control, the consequences would be inestimable.

So, for the peace of the Dongcheng today, he, Zheng Fuhua, has made a huge contribution.

"If you think my move is a bit inappropriate, you don't have to listen."

Li Xuewu saw that Zheng Bureau's look toward him was a bit unkind, raised his eyebrows and said: "There's no need to be so guarded against me."

"No~ it's quite good~"

Zheng Fuhua said a lie that didn't match his heart with a straight face: "You are indeed a talent; this idea is very good."

"Comrade Shanchuan."

He turned to look at Lai Shanchuan and arranged: "Remember those three points from before; refer to them, and do what was just said now."

After giving instructions, he stood with his hands behind his back and looked at the curious crowd on the shore, thinking in his heart that if Li Xuewu hadn't been transferred, how good it would be; such subordinates are needed.

Although Lai Shanchuan felt that the three suggestions given by Li Xuewu were a bit mediocre, from his personal perspective, he still agreed.

Without figuring out the specific situation of the case, without strong evidence support, and even without getting the forensic doctor's investigation report, he could say three suggestions; it can be seen that Li Xuewu's professional level is really high.

After all, Li Xuewu isn't a novelist who can make things up, right!

Zheng Fuhua also felt that these suggestions were feasible, so he pointed to Lai Shanchuan.

After Lai Shanchuan finished arranging work with the criminal investigation section, the forensic doctor's scene investigation was basically over.

Zheng Fuhua looked at the time on his hand and instructed Lai Shanchuan: "Then tonight, the forensic doctor comrades will have to work hard, and the criminal investigation section should also organize the materials as soon as possible, okay?"

After finishing, he arranged for several people around: "That's it for today; tomorrow morning we will have a meeting to discuss the case."

"In the afternoon, please ask the criminal psychology expert, Comrade Li Xuewu, to help go through the suspects and case-related personnel again to see if there are any new situations and clues, okay?"

This "okay" was said to Li Xuewu, so he also hurriedly responded: "Director Zheng, let's get the words out first: helping is helping, and this is what should be done."

"But my work is really busy now, and time is limited; I'll help as much as I can."

Li Xuewu said very sincerely: "It's really not easy for one person to do two jobs; I hope you understand."

"What are you saying~"

Zheng Fuhua smiled, patted Li Xuewu's arm, and said: "We were one family before; now that we've split up, we don't recognize the door?"

"Your work is busy, so of course we have to understand, and we won't delay your work, but we also need your strong support."

He also said very seriously: "Calling you isn't my personal behavior; it was coordinated by Director Gao and the leaders above, and the ministry also knows about this matter."

"Speaking of which, we have to return to the beginning."

Zheng Fuhua held Li Xuewu's hand and said: "Our pressure is great, and the pressure from above is not small either. Let's work together, but seek to have no regrets, okay?"

"I'll listen to you."

Li Xuewu looked at the forensic doctor who was organizing the corpse; Zheng Fuhua used this tone of discussion, and in front of someone who might have been unjustly killed, what else could he say.

Coming out of the scene, it was already past four o'clock when they got into the car. Refusing Lai Shanchuan's treat, Li Xuewu told Han Jiankun not to go back to the factory, but to go straight to Hufangqiao nearby to take a bath.

It's really not far, both are in the Southern City Temple of Heaven area, less than three kilometers, a matter of one foot on the gas pedal.

Han Jiankun also knew why Li Xuewu wanted to take a bath; if he were living alone, it wouldn't matter, but there is a pregnant woman at home, and children, how could he go home directly.

Even if he didn't mind these things, he was afraid that the children and his wife would suffer.

Han Jiankun thought the same; take a bath, get rid of the cold, and get rid of the bad luck. After such a lively time in the bathhouse, nothing would happen.

"Which school did you graduate from?"

"I'm from Tsinghua."

"Over at Hufangqiao?"

"No, opposite the Huguang Guild Hall."

"Isn't that the same place?"

"Where?"

"Huaqing Pool!"

Those who have heard the segment "Article Meeting" by Mr. Guo know that the "school" they are talking about is the destination of Li Xuewu and the others today.

The only time-honored brand in the bathhouse industry—Huaqing Pool.

Bathhouse is a relatively elegant way of saying it; in the Four Nine Cities, it's called a bathhouse.

People greet you: "What are you doing?"

If you say you are going to the bathhouse to take a bath, people will laugh at you for being a novice.

What are you pretending for!

This thing has been called a bathhouse since long ago; bathhouse is just a way of saying it after they built single rooms later.

The bathhouses in the Four Nine Cities began in the Yuan Dynasty, mainly run by temple monks, as a place for pilgrims to bathe and change clothes.

Later, it slowly evolved into a culture, a habit of "keeping oneself clean," and also became a business.

This bathhouse doesn't just provide bathing services; there are other special items.

Of course, compared to later generations, this decent kind has everything except "going to the second floor."

For example, washing, rubbing, knocking, pressing, repairing... etc.

Of course, there are also indecent bathhouses, all concentrated in the Eight Great Hutongs.

Knowing that everyone likes to watch some indecent things, so let's talk a little bit about it.

Low-end bathhouses are mostly on Wang Guafu's Slanting Street; after all, it is the outer city, belonging to the urban-rural fringe, and the conditions are very average.

At that time, this hutong concentrated some northern prostitutes who were squeezed out by the southern ones, and opened many small inns for eating and sleeping.

There was a middle-aged woman surnamed Wang in the hutong whose husband died, so people called her Wang Guafu. The "Wang Guafu Chicken House" she opened on this street was very famous.

So when people mention this place, they will say: "Go to Wang Guafu's Slanting Street"; after a long time, this place name was formed.

But it has been changed now, called Zongshu Slanting Street; Wang Guafu is long gone, and that place has been turned into a teahouse, which is quite a pity.

Are there any high-end ones?

Yes, for example, Yipinxian Bathhouse.

Early bathhouse bosses in the Four Nine Cities were mostly from Dingxing, Hebei, but the boss of Yipinxian was a Muslim, so the words "Muslim" were specially carved under the plaque of Yipinxian.

In those years, this Muslim bathhouse was really popular throughout the Dashilan area; many Muslims came here to take a bath, and even the Peking Opera master Mr. Ma was a frequent visitor here.

There is a saying that the boss of the bathhouse, Mr. Ma, and the King of Drum Art, Liu Baoquan, were close friends, often walking together, strolling, and then soaking in the bath at Yipinxian.

In the afternoon, they would go to Liangyixuan to eat, and after the meal, they would go to the theater to watch the performances of Yang Xiaolou and Yu Shuyan.

Look, this is the life of an artist, how boring and dull.

Li Xuewu is of course not an artist, but he also wants to be boring and dull like this; after all, the life pursued by elegant artists must have its merits.

Of course, there are no indecent bathhouses on the side of the Eight Great Hutongs anymore, and even if there were, Li Xuewu wouldn't go; he is a decent person.

Besides, it's useless to go now; the people have gone and the building is empty, leaving only some historical wreckage.

Huaqing Pool is quite good; it was originally called Xiaocanglang Bathhouse, but later it made money, so it was upgraded to a first-class bathhouse in the Four Nine Cities.

Not to mention anything else, the foot repair here is a must.

Speaking of foot repair, the origin is even earlier; the oracle bone inscriptions of the Yin and Shang Dynasties already had the two words "sick foot."

The ancestor of the foot repair industry—Zen Master Zhigong was a person of the Zhou Dynasty. It is said that King Wen of Zhou had a toenail disease, and Zhigong stepped forward and applied a "square flat shovel," and the disease was cured with the knife.

The above paragraph cannot be used as historical reference, because this was told to Li Xuewu by a foot repair master; he just listened to it as fun, who knows if the master was bragging.

The foot repair technology is really good, but to trace it back to the Zhou Dynasty, he doesn't have the leisure to study whether King Wen of Zhou had paronychia or not.

Idle!

"Hey! You're here! Please come in!"

Han Jiankun parked the car at the gate, and followed Li Xuewu into the hall of Huaqing Pool.

Just as they entered the door, a waiter stood at the door and shouted, still with that old Four Nine City flavor.

"You're here, please come in."

Li Xuewu nodded to the waiter with a smile, took Han Jiankun to the counter to pay and get the hand tag.

Valuables are naturally in the car; the two came empty-handed.

They just asked for towels and soap at the counter, all included in the bath ticket.

There was a waiter leading the two to change shoes, and he even served two glasses of clear water in advance, which is called welcome tea, also called mouth-clearing water.

Li Xuewu waved his hand to refuse, didn't drink, he never drinks tea or water outside.

Han Jiankun drank it; he is a small driver, not afraid of others calculating against him.

Even if he was drugged here, it is estimated that three or five people couldn't get close to Li Xuewu.

After changing shoes, entering the bathhouse, stripping off his clothes, and locking them in a small cabinet, the two walked inside again.

It's an old bathhouse; even if it has been renovated several times, it still reveals the characteristics of the era.

Especially now that many factories and units have built their own employee bathrooms, the business here is not as hot as before.

Of course, in terms of service, this place is still much better than the employee bathroom; after all, people are professional.

What? You say the employee bathroom is also professional?

Hmm, professional, that's a professional old man!

The bathhouse was filled with fog, like the Queen Mother of the West holding a Flat Peach Meeting; look at these "big flat peaches" and "small flat peaches" swaying all over the bathhouse.

Someone on the edge of the pool sang a line of opera: "The sun and moon take turns urging the dawn arrow," and someone in the "hot" water pool immediately picked up the singing: "Green mountains and green waters are always before the eyes."

The two old men smiled at each other, and they could continue chatting; if they could talk about one, they could talk about another, and as long as you are interested in what they say, you can pick up the conversation, like a symposium, talk about anything.

Of course, you can't go directly into the pool when you first come in; it hurts the body, especially the heart.

The two took a shower, and then strolled to the water pool side.

Li Xuewu is twenty, Han Jiankun is nineteen, both have military experience, and both are married, so they are big young men, so it is inevitable to swing around.

Especially Li Xuewu, gifted and different from ordinary people; he found that many eyes fell on him.

Even the two playing chess started to glance over here, and it's hard to say whether it was envy or jealousy.

"Alright, man, make some room."

Li Xuewu greeted with a smile, first sat on the platform, and after the people inside made room, he went into the pool with Han Jiankun.

"Yo! Man! Not bad!"

An old man opposite greeted with a smile, saying: "Youth is good."

"Hi~ what's bad or not bad~"

Li Xuewu smiled and splashed water to the side, joking: "If you have it, use it; you can't wait until you can't use your own to envy others, and still have to say 'Not bad~'."

"Hahahaha~"

Li Xuewu's retort didn't bring anger from the opposite side, but instead, a burst of laughter floated in the pool.

There are no lack of old customers around here, and some are regulars who come here every day to talk nonsense.

They are all familiar with each other; what should be said has been said, and they are about to finish telling all the jokes of a lifetime.

So as long as they see a new face, if it's not too cold, they will basically crack a joke, which is fresh.

Of course, if you can't let go, or are shy, then they have caught you, and they will play with you.

You can't get angry; if you take it seriously, you lose. The old saying in the Four Nine Cities is called "can't afford to play."

He talks about you, you talk back; everyone is naked here, so don't care if there is hair on your head or not, just spray each other for fun.

Since you have entered the same pool, don't talk about noble or not noble; the more you can make trouble, the more they dare not make trouble with you.

Li Xuewu's mouth was surprisingly sharp, and he retorted several people in a row; these people laughed and joked for two sentences and then shifted their attention.

Those old men have seen many such kids; they are either bad seeds in the hutong or bad guys who grew up on the street.

A piece of tough meat, not angry at all, spraying with you, can spray for a whole morning without panting, commonly known as a small kid.

Finally took off the clothes, everyone had no scruples; in this pool, you can hear anything.

City rumors, celebrity gossip, policy trends, national affairs, messy, no matter true or false, they will tell you in a logical way.

Those who know will think you are soaking in the bath; those who don't will think you are holding an expanded meeting above.

However, the "key politics" in this bathhouse has historical reasons, and it even has a heritage.

Before 1949, Huaqing Pool once served as an underground work activity station for our organization, doing a lot of underground work for the peace of the Four Nine Cities at that time.

So talking nonsense here doesn't count as taboo; it can only be said that this culture is hidden in this pool of soup, flowing into the bones of everyone who soaks in the bath.

Li Xuewu and Han Jiankun didn't say much, just listened to these "old soakers" bragging.

Under the current situation, naturally, they can't talk about those things, but they can "talk nonsense"; just listen, there is everything.

Li Xuewu finished soaking, got up and called a master to rub his back, and enjoyed the experience of "108 towel" rubbing.

Waiting for Han Jiankun to finish rubbing, the two went to the foot disease treatment room again.

In 1958, Huaqing Pool created the first foot disease treatment room in the country, taking the lead in combining foot repair technology with Chinese and Western medical technology, gradually changing from simple foot repair to foot disease treatment.

Repair, dig, lift, slice, divide, tear, scrape, pinch, these are the eight methods of foot repair.

Support, pinch, pick, card, gather, grasp, struggle, push, these are the eight methods of holding the foot.

Holding the knife must be steady, the green line must be accurate, the action must be light, and the wrist must be flexible.

This profession of foot repair must master the "finger and wrist skill," emphasizing "fingers must be powerful and flexible, and the knife must be steady, accurate, light, and fast." The thumb and index finger must be powerful, otherwise, it is easy to "run the knife" during the foot repair process and stab the guest.

The effect of force is between the millimeters; there is a joke that this is carving flowers on meat.

When the two walked out comfortably, the old man who was joking together just now saw them getting into the command car and almost stared his eyes out.

Originally thought they were bad kids in the hutong, didn't expect them to be people from the powerful department.

Each of them was beating drums in their hearts, recalling whether they had said anything taboo in the pool.

Li Xuewu was really sharp; seeing those old men standing at the door scared and dumbfounded, he deliberately lowered the car window, looked cold, and pointed at them with his finger.

Good, it's going to scare a few to death tonight!

With his finger, those old men might have heart disease or cerebral hemorrhage.

Even if they don't get sick, it is estimated that they won't be able to sleep tonight, and if they come to soak in the bath again, they will have to sew their mouths shut. ===== CHAPTER 944 =====

Li Xuewu was truly wicked to the core; seeing those old geezers standing at the entrance, scared out of their wits, he deliberately rolled down the car window, kept a cold face, and pointed his finger at them.

Goodness, he was bound to scare a few of them to death tonight!

With that point of his, those old geezers might just suffer a heart attack or a cerebral hemorrhage.

Even if they didn't fall ill, they probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight; if they dared to come back for a bath, he would surely have their mouths sewn shut.