The car stopped at the entrance of "Lao Zhang Dumpling House" at No. 377 Zhongshan West Road, Beijiang City, Jiangbei Province. Three people got out of the car. The driver was Lao Yang from the Beijiang City Police Station in Jiangbei Province, and the other two people came from Jiangnan Province.
Zhang Pengfei and Su Le arrived.
"Let's go, the store shouldn't be busy at this time, so we have time to learn about the situation." Lao Yang greeted Su Le and Zhang Pengfei into Lao Zhang's Dumpling House.
The store of Lao Zhang’s Dumpling House is obviously larger than that of Hongqu Dumpling House, and the decoration is newer than that of Hongqu. There are also many more dining tables. It seems that Lao Zhang’s business in Jiangbei is better than that in Jiangnan. Because after
At meal time, there was not a single customer in the dumpling restaurant, only the waiters were busy cleaning up.
Seeing Lao Yang and the other three walking in, a middle-aged man who was not tall and fat hurriedly walked up to say hello:
"Officer Yang, you're here, come and sit inside."
Lao Yang came to the store last time to understand the situation and took photos of Zhang Guifu. Zhang Guifu naturally recognized him. Su Le recognized at a glance that this was Zhang Guifu in the photo. The real person in front of him looked smarter than the photo, and he was the same as Zhang Guifu from Zhongjiang City.
They are indeed very similar, except that the skin of Zhang Guifu in front of me is slightly darker.
After arranging for the three of them to sit down at a secluded table, Zhang Guifu asked Officer Yang with a smile:
"You're not here for dinner, are you? How about some tea?"
"Oh, wait a minute." Officer Yang waved his hand to Zhang Guifu, and then asked Zhang Pengfei:
"By the way, I picked you two up from the high-speed rail station and went straight here. Haven't I asked you if you had lunch yet?"
Zhang Pengfei glanced at Su Le, smiled and said:
"Sorry, I was busy on the road and I really didn't eat."
"Oh, that's easy to say, we are at the right place, Lao Zhang, hurry up and make the dumplings." Officer Yang urged Lao Zhang.
Lao Zhang quickly agreed to arrange the dumplings, and brought over three teacups to pour tea for them respectively.
"Stop being busy now, Lao Zhang, let's sit together for a while. These two comrades are from Jiangnan Province and came to you specifically to understand the situation." After Lao Yang asked Lao Zhang to come and sit down, Lao Yang continued to introduce
:
"This is Officer Zhang, this is Officer Su, and this is Zhang Guifu."
"Hello, police officers, if you have any questions, just ask." Zhang Guifu nodded and said with a smile on his face.
Su Le took out his voice recorder and notebook and set them up. Zhang Pengfei exchanged glances with Su Le and asked:
"Your name is Zhang Guifu?"
"Yes, my name is Zhang Guifu."
"Show us your ID card."
Zhang Guifu got up and went to the counter to get his ID card and handed it to Zhang Pengfei. Zhang Pengfei took a look at it and handed it to Su Le.
"Have you been to Zhongjiang City in Jiangnan Province?" Zhang Pengfei continued to ask.
"No, you see I'm so busy here that I can't leave for a whole day. Besides, where should I go and why?" Zhang Guifu had a smile on his face that he had practiced for many years in business, but there was some panic in his eyes.
"Then why is there a dumpling restaurant opened by you on Dongcheng Pedestrian Street in Zhongjiang City?" Zhang Pengfei asked again.
After Zhang Guifu heard this, he was obviously a little uncomfortable. He quickly picked up the teapot and poured water for the three of them. With the teapot in his hand, his expression returned to calm, and he said slowly:
"No, officer. Besides, there may be people with the same name."
"Of course there are people with the same name, but there aren't even the same ID numbers, right?" Zhang Pengfei put the copy of the Hongqu Dumpling Restaurant's business license he brought from Jiangnan in front of Zhang Guifu.
Seeing the evidence before him, Zhang Guifu didn't know what to say for a moment, and stood there in shock with his mouth wide open.
After the atmosphere became tense for a moment, a smile suddenly appeared on Zhang Guifu's lips:
"I remember losing an ID card before."
"Applying for a business license requires more than just an ID card. I think you should be more honest and tell the truth!" Zhang Pengfei's tone became a little stern.
"Old Zhang, don't have any worries. Just say what you have to say and don't lie. You are assisting the police in Jiangnan Province in handling the case." Lao Yang enlightened him.
"Handling the case? Could it be..." Zhang Guifu was still unwilling to speak.
Su Le saw through his mind and said:
"We have got some information, and today we are mainly looking for you to verify. It has been so many years since you went to Jiangnan Province. Even if you had some minor problems back then, as long as you cooperate with us well, we will not pursue it."
When Zhang Guifu heard what Su Le said, his back immediately stopped straightening. He put his arms on the table to barely stabilize his body. He instantly became shorter. His brain seemed to have stopped functioning.
, a past incident more than ten years ago came to mind. He once promised that person not to tell anyone what happened that day. But today, facing the police's interrogation and the evidence before him, his heart
The line of defense has collapsed.
That matter was hidden in his heart, and he never told anyone about it. Just like that person told him, he didn't even mention his wife. But this matter was like a stone weighing on his heart, always worrying him.
He had an urge to tell. Zhang Guifu glanced at the two police officers who were staring at him, and suddenly felt a sense of relief in his heart. He sighed deeply and said:
"Alas...that was all many years ago. Let me think about it carefully."
At this time, the waiter brought the cooked dumplings, which temporarily relieved Zhang Guifu. He quickly went to the kitchen and filled up two more plates of side dishes.
Zhang Pengfei and Su Le were not polite and started to wolf down their food. While they were eating, Lao Yang reminded Zhang Guifu:
"I said, Lao Zhang, think about it carefully and say whatever you have to say. Police comrades from Jiangnan Province are coming to your door. If you don't tell the truth, you will have to weigh the consequences yourself!"
Lao Yang's words obviously touched Zhang Guifu greatly. At this moment, sweat began to break out on his forehead, and he kept wiping it with the napkin on the table.
"Okay! Okay! I said, I said, they all blamed me for being greedy for money. I really shouldn't have given him my ID card at that time..." Zhang Guifu began to talk about his adventure in Zhongjiang City.
It was just after the Spring Festival in 2006, and 35-year-old Zhang Guifu had just given birth to his second child, a boy. At this time, Zhang Guifu, who had two sons and a daughter, finally felt relieved. But how to build a house for his son and find a wife next?
This came to Zhang Guifu's mind. For the happiness of his family and the future of his children, he decided to let his wife take care of the children at home and go out to work to earn money.
There is a habit of going out to work in rural areas in Jiangbei. Zhang Guifu also went to the south to work for a few years in his early years. He worked in a Northeastern dumpling restaurant for five years and learned the skill of making dumplings. This time, Zhang Guifu no longer wanted to go out to work.
I work for others, and now that I have the skill of making dumplings, why not open my own dumpling restaurant.
Zhang Guifu discussed with some relatives and found that Jiangnan Province was much more economically developed than Jiangbei Province, and there happened to be a few fellow villagers working in Zhongjiang City, so Zhang Guifu took only 20,000 yuan from home and went to Zhongjiang City with the fellow villagers.
Things went smoothly for Zhang Luo Dumpling House. Zhang Guifu rented a two-story building on the pedestrian street in Dongcheng District. He opened the dumpling restaurant below and slept upstairs. Although the rent was a bit expensive, the pedestrian street had a lot of traffic.
Dumpling restaurants can still make a lot of profits.
The dumpling shop has been open for about half a year. One night, when it was about to close, a customer came to the shop. This customer seemed to be well-dressed and carrying a backpack. After he came in, he ordered half a catty of dumplings.
Zhang Guifu first poured a bowl of dumpling soup over and said to the guest:
"You have a bowl of soup and wait while I'm going to make the dumplings."
Zhang Guifu put down the dumpling soup and turned around to walk away when he suddenly felt that the person in front of him looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him before.
The guest raised his head and met Zhang Guifu's eyes. He also looked surprised. He seemed to be acquainted with Zhang Guifu and could not remember where he had met him.
"Hey boss, can you cook here?" the customer called Zhang Guifu.
"Yes, what do you want to eat?" Zhang Guifu's shop can not only cook dumplings, but also cook a few stir-fry dishes.
The guest ordered two home-cooked dishes: fried pork with peppers and scrambled eggs with leeks. After a while, Zhang Guifu prepared the two dishes and brought them to the table.
"Do you want a drink? I also have cooked five-spice peanuts here. Do you want a plate?" Zhang Guifu asked, putting down the dishes.
"Okay, let's have a plate, a bottle of wine, and two glasses," the guest replied.
Zhang Guifu filled the peanuts and brought wine and cups to the guests:
"Are there any more guests coming?"
"No, come on, brother, sit down and have a drink with me." The guest opened the wine bottle and filled two glasses.
"This won't work, this won't work." Zhang Guifu has never encountered a customer asking the boss to drink. He didn't know what kind of medicine the customer was selling, so he quickly waved his hand and refused.
"Come on, come on, you're welcome. There are no other guests for dinner now. Don't worry, I won't pay you less for my treat." The guest stood up and pulled Zhang Guifu to sit at the table.
"Looking at your accent, you are also from Jiangbei, right?" The guest picked up his wine glass and clinked it with Zhang Guifu's glass. He didn't care whether Zhang Guifu drank or not, and took a sip first.
"Yes, from Shangdong County, Jiangbei Province."
"Oh, then we are not far apart. I am from Beijiang, Jiangbei." The guest said.
Hearing that the guest said that he was also from Jiangbei, Zhang Guifu immediately felt that he had become more familiar with the guest. Seeing that it was getting late and there would be no more guests, he picked up his wine glass and took a sip.
"When did the dumpling restaurant open here?" the customer asked.
"It hasn't been long, less than half a year."
"Didn't you ask for help? Can one person do this?" the guest asked.
"No, my small business can't afford to hire anyone."
The two were drinking and chatting. After a while, only half of the second glass of wine was left. At this time, the guest said to Zhang Guifu:
"Brother Zhang, I have something to discuss with you."
"Brother Meng, just tell me if you have anything to say." The guest told Zhang Guifu that his surname was Meng.
The guest named Meng picked up his wine glass and said:
"Come on, Brother Zhang, let's do one first."
Zhang Guifu picked up the wine glass and clinked it with the guest, and the two drank the rest of the wine. The guest did not put the wine glass down immediately, but held it in his hand and played with it. After a moment of silence, the guest stared at Zhang Guifu and said:
"I want you to transfer this dumpling restaurant to me."