A small shop facing the street has a steaming steamed bun painted on the glass, and an eye-catching plaque stands at the door: Wang Ji Xiaolong Baozi.
There are only two people in the store, the husband is in charge of the kitchen, and the wife is in charge of greeting the customers. Although the store is not big, it is very clean inside and out.
It is now three o'clock in the afternoon, lunch time has passed and dinner time is still early. Except for Xu Siqi and Zheng Zheng, there are no other customers in the store.
Two drawers of steaming steamed buns, a large bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup, and a complimentary side dish platter.
He solemnly picked up the spoon and took a sip of the soup and praised: "It tastes good. The boss's cooking is getting more and more authentic."
"Have you been here before?" Xu Siqi asked.
"Well, I've been here once or twice. Where did you go just now? I've been waiting for you for more than half an hour."
“We went around the Suzhou River.”
"What are you doing there?"
"The patrol is arresting people over there. I'll go over and ask."
"oh……"
He solemnly ate a bun and said, "I agreed to treat you to a big meal, but it turned out to be meat buns. Next time, I will definitely treat you to it."
Xu Siqi smiled and said: "Licha Hotel is not far away, how about we go back?"
"The stationmaster must have had his intentions when he asked us to come here to eat. We didn't even say hello and changed places privately. Aren't we just waiting to be punished?" he said solemnly and seriously.
In fact, he knew very well that Zhou Weilong had also been to Wangji Baozi Shop and asked the two of them to come here to eat, just casually mentioning a place.
As soon as the store door rang, five or six men in black clothes came in from the outside. They were all about thirty years old. They sat at a table near the door.
The landlady hurried over and asked, "What do you guys want to eat?"
"Everyone has a drawer of steamed buns, hurry up," said the leading man in black.
"Wait a moment, it will be ready soon." The landlady was very happy. Usually there were no customers at this time, but today was the first time.
Xu Siqi glanced at the two men in black with their backs to him. There was an obvious bulge in their waists, which looked like the shape of an axe.
He thought for a moment, got up and walked over, saying in Jianghuai dialect: "Excuse me, everyone. Please use the vinegar bottle."
No one at the table spoke to anyone, they all looked at Xu Siqi inexplicably.
Xu Siqi pointed at the vinegar bottle, and one of the men in black suddenly understood and said, "Take it, take it."
Seeing Xu Siqi walking away, the man in black complained to his companions: "I really can't stand these foreigners. They sound like they are speaking foreign languages. Who can understand them? Now that I have arrived in Shanghai, I have to learn to speak Mandarin."
"
Another man in black said: "I met a guy at the station yesterday. He talked and gestured. I only understood two words, Shanghai."
Everyone burst into laughter and started chatting about this topic.
Xu Siqi looked pretty, spoke and behaved politely, and these people didn't take any precautions, thinking that he was just a foreigner who had just arrived in Shanghai.
The leading man in black coughed lightly and said in a low voice: "Okay, okay, listen to me. You will know everything you need to do in a while, right?"
"clear."
"clear."
"clear."
Five or six voices responded unevenly.
Although he couldn't hear what they were saying, Xu Siqi was certain of one thing: these people were not from Anhui either.
Not only are they not from Anhui, judging from their accents, two of them are basically Shanghai locals, and the others are mostly from the northern Jiangsu area.
The buns were served quickly. The men in black ate quickly and left after five minutes.
Xu Siqi put down his chopsticks and said to Zheng Zheng, "I'm going back to the patrol room."
He solemnly said: "Today is a public holiday. Why are you going back to the patrol room? Now is the time when we need you. If Captain Weng asks, what should I tell him?"
"There's something I need to verify."
"What's up?"
"I haven't figured it out yet. I'll explain it to you in detail when I get back."
"Then, where should I wait for you?"
"Waibaidu."
…………
About an hour later.
Hongkou Patrol Room.
There is an office on the westmost side of the second floor. The sign on the door reads: Inspector Xu’s Office.
Xu Siqi stood in front of the window, watching the chaos and noise downstairs. In just one hour, the patrol brought back more than a dozen men in black.
All of them were charged with the same crime: they were carrying an axe, they had no documents on them, and they were suspected of being members of the Ax Gang.
The reason why they were discovered was basically the same as that of Da Hei and Er Hei. They had some minor frictions with ordinary people and were stopped and arrested "in time" by patrol officers.
A few minutes later, a black Ford sedan sped up. As soon as the door opened, Chief Inspector Stewart hurried upstairs.
The Office of the Chief Inspector is on the east side of the second floor, next to the offices of the two foreign detectives, one is American Inspector Russell and the other is British Inspector William.
Xu Siqi thought for a moment and quietly opened the door a crack.
On the wall of the office, there is a list of telephone numbers, including the numbers of the Inspector General's Office and all related departments.
He quickly dialed the number of a patrol inspector on duty. After the call was connected, he said: "I am Xu Siqi, are you on duty today?"
"Yes. Inspector Xu, what are your orders?" the inspector on duty said respectfully.
"What's going on with those men in black?"
"Report to Inspector Xu. We haven't had time to interrogate yet. As you know, today is a public holiday and most of the inspectors are on vacation, so..."
"It's so urgent, why take a vacation? Inform everyone to cancel the vacation and ask them to come to the patrol room immediately!"
"yes!"
Just after hanging up the phone, there was a knock on the door. Stewart opened the door and walked in, saying, "Inspector Xu, you did the right thing. I have already notified William and Russell when I arrived."
In fact, Xu Siqi made this call just to let Stuart hear it.
Any boss hopes to see his subordinates acting vigorously and resolutely. If Xu Siqi showed no action, Stewart would definitely be disappointed.
"Chief Inspector, I heard that a lot of people suspected of being from the Ax Gang were arrested, so I rushed over immediately. I was mainly worried that the patrol room was short of manpower." Xu Siqi looked serious. He has now entered the role of detective.
Stewart nodded: "Yes, I have thought of this too. It seems that Wang Guanqiao is indeed going to take action."
Xu Siqi said: "I think that as long as we respond appropriately and strengthen the security of the Licha Hotel, we will be able to ensure that the Spring Festival reception will be held normally."
"You must not be careless about this Wang Guanqiao. This man is elusive and his assassination methods are all kinds of strange." Stewart said worriedly:
Xu Siqi said: "Don't worry, I will personally lead the team to be responsible for the safety of the reception tonight."
Stewart smiled and said: "Detective Xu, transferring you to the Hongkou Patrol Room may be the wisest choice I have made since I became a police officer."
"You flatter me."
"Oh, by the way, tell the secretariat your address and ask them to contact the telephone office to install a telephone in your home as soon as possible."