The curtains were not open, and the hotel room was still dark. The middle-aged man grabbed the mobile phone on the bedside table, connected it and called out 'hello'.
The voice of the editor-in-chief of Imperial Capital sounded, "Old Xiao, I thought you should get up. Let me tell you something."
The middle-aged man looked at the luminous watch beside the bed. It was like he was holding the time, as if he couldn't wait, which made his heart tense.
The middle-aged man tried to forgive himself and asked with a smile: "Leader, do you have any tasks?"
The editor-in-chief let out a long sigh and said: "Oh..., there are some new situations recently, and the news unit also needs to innovate.
I had an all-night meeting with several leaders in the company last night and thought about it all night. There is a task that I have to rely on you."
If it was in the past, the middle-aged man would be very happy to receive such recognition. But the call at this time made him frown.
The editor continued: "There have been a lot of people going overseas in the past two years, and public institutions will launch some profit-expansion projects. You have many connections and knowledge, can you take the lead?"
The middle-aged man's head was buzzing when he heard it, and he asked: "Chief Editor, what do you mean?"
The editor-in-chief sighed, "This is a good thing. You know Zhongguancun, right? How many units have opened companies there? The economic and social benefits are very good.
This is a trend and we should join it.
And I also know a lot about Tianyang's situation from other channels. It is not easy to introduce some foreign investment to the local area, and we should also understand their difficulties.
As for the circumstances of your investigation, they are either based on rumors or extenuating circumstances, so don’t be too persistent. You are always making trouble outside, and many comrades have objections to you."
The editor-in-chief's words were like a pour of cold water, pouring down the middle-aged man's heart.
The other party did not give up and continued: "Old Xiao, you are no longer young. You have offended so many people over the years, so you should consider leaving a way out for yourself.
The unit has been conducting diversion recently, and your name was on the first batch of lists, but I removed them all.
But it’s not an option for you to run around outside all the time. Why not go back to the imperial capital and do something to make money. What do you think?”
The editor-in-chief's words were as calm and gentle as ever.
But Xiao Jinlang acted like a fool after hearing this, sitting blankly in the single room of the small hotel, not even knowing when the phone was hung up.
After more than twenty years of hard work, everything came to nothing.
Go to Zhongguancun to open a company. To put it nicely, isn’t this a diversion?
This is a reward for losers!
Not to mention the pain of being transferred out of the job, if the company does not give money, can middle-aged people risk their own lives to start a company?
If the company is running well, it is the credit of the leaders. If the company is running poorly, it is the responsibility of the middle-aged people themselves. This is no joke.
In more than twenty years of career, middle-aged people have faced countless crises and dangerous situations.
In order to write reports, he was beaten, chased by dogs, coerced and lured, and even framed. But he has never experienced this situation.
He was stabbed by his trusted superior.
He sat motionless and was in excruciating pain...
As dawn dawned, Zhou Qingfeng, who was running around, arrived outside an old street in Tianyang Old Town. He lowered his head and looked at the overlapping area on the map in his hand. Next to him was Gong Wei, who had been ordered to transfer.
"Find someone as I said. He is from out of town and should be between thirty and fifty years old.
He should be a male. He came to Tianyang half a month ago, alone or two, and stayed in a hotel in this area. He should leave early and come back late, most likely staying in a single room.
In the name of our ‘Holy Light’, go to the police here to help, and if you give me more benefits, the investigation will be faster.”
Two 'Chang'an Stars' arrived at once, and seven or eight of Gong Wei's men jumped out. They usually help the company run relationships and are very experienced in finding people.
After assigning the task, Zhou Qingfeng stood alone at the intersection of the market. Residents who went out looked at this tall young man and wondered what happened?
He scanned everyone he saw to determine if the target he was looking for was inside.
There are more than a dozen small hotels opened in the market in the old city, and they are usually occupied by tourists from out of town. The nearby police station occasionally comes to check, but basically does not pay much attention to them.
Gong Wei came forward to find the sub-district office and neighborhood committee, contacted the film police who were familiar with the situation, explained the situation with a smile, and said he needed to find someone if he had any difficulties.
‘Shengguang’ is now the number one company in Tianyang City, with huge interests and is a household name. Gong Wei said he wanted to find someone, and the neighborhood committee directly mobilized dozens of uncles and aunties to come out.
Within half an hour, Zhou Qingfeng learned a series of specific details on his mobile phone. A certain passenger in a certain hotel might be the person he was looking for. The target was quickly reduced to single digits.
The ones he found at the beginning were all wrong. Zhou Qingfeng knew the truth just by asking a few questions, and no one could deceive him.
When the fifth suspicious target was found, what the hotel owner and his wife said caught Zhou Qingfeng's attention.
"Medium height, in his forties, thin, and very ordinary looking."
"I leave early and come back late. I live alone in a single room. I am very polite but not very talkative."
"This person happened to stay at a hotel owned by my relatives, and he came to my place after staying for five days. It should have been about half a month since he came to Tianyang."
After comprehensive information, Zhou Qingfeng felt that he was close to his goal.
"Where are the others?"
"I went out at noon. I was dejected and worried. I ignored my calls. I didn't know when he would come back."
"What's his registered name?"
"I just registered a surname, Xiao. Hahaha... We made some oversights in management and didn't check his ID card."
"Can I go into his room and have a look?"
"Hahaha, all the comrades from the police station are here, of course."
The small hotel only has about ten rooms. Walking along the corridor, there is a lingering musty smell.
The single room is on the third floor and the corridor is dirty.
The hotel owner was trembling when he opened the door when he saw Zhou Qingfeng's big fight. Zhou Qingfeng took the key from his hand and walked into a simple room.
Different from the usual messy scene after accommodation, the suspected target folded the quilt on the bed well, and neatly placed a cup and toothbrush for washing on the small square table placed against the wall.
There is a suitcase in the corner with only a change of clothes in it. There is a pair of replacement rubber shoes under the bed. Turn the soles over and take a look.
"That's this guy." Zhou Qingfeng said with certainty: "This kind of black silt can only be found in two places in Tianyang."
One is the garbage recycling warehouse in Taipingqiao, but it is guarded by more than a dozen ferocious constructed wolfdogs. The other place is in Nantou Township, a place with silt and fertile fields.
"This guy is really running around. I guess he has never been to Taiping Bridge. He has been to all the places related to the Holy Light in the past half month."
There is a book beside the bed, "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy.
Zhou Qingfeng opened the title page of the book. It was borrowed from a university library in the imperial capital and had the library's seal on it. However, the book did not contain any information that could confirm the identity of the suspected target.
Gong Wei followed up and whispered: "Mr. Zhou, I'll check."
The book was handed to Gong Wei. He took out his "Big Brother" and first called the Tianyang Telecommunications Bureau to check the number. Then he transferred to a university in the imperial capital and checked all the way to the loan registration office of the library.
"Hello, hello. This is the lost and found office of Tianyang Railway Station. I picked up a copy of "Anna Karenina" borrowed from your library.
Oops... I wonder if that comrade dropped this book? There are valuable things in the book, and no one came to pick it up after the station announcement. Maybe he has left.
The comrade who dropped the book must be anxious. I wondered if I could contact this comrade and send the book to him. It would be a good person and a good deed.
You asked for the book registration number, right? Let me take a look."
The other end of the phone asked for the registration number posted on the book, and received a message back half an hour later.
After some operations, Gong Wei replied to Zhou Qingfeng: "My name is Xiao Jinlang, from the "** Daily" in the imperial capital. He is known as a 'hard nut' and has a very good background."
"It will be easier if you know who it is."
Zhou Qingfeng bared his teeth and said to Gong Wei: "To untie the bell, you must tie the bell. Find out who the leader of this reporter Xiao is? I'll talk to him."