Reborn in 97, I solved a cold case at the Municipal Bureau

Chapter 283 Human Radar
Meng Qingtong said, "I thought the pig's head meat was delicious, so I asked where I bought it. Wang Ronghai said it was from the vegetable market on Ankang Road."

"Was there any unusual reaction when he said that?"

“Abnormal reaction…” Meng Qingtong thought for a moment and said, “No. Oh, he added later that he remembered it wrong.”

Zhou Yi was certain that there was something wrong with the pig's head meat. Wang Ronghai must have blurted it out too quickly, but then regretted it and added a sentence to make amends.

No, the problem lies with the person selling the pig's head meat.

Ankang Road? In the western part of Qingshan District, Zhou Yi remembered that area was an old town with many peddlers and laborers, and the density of houses and people was relatively high.

"Boss... does this count as a useful clue?" Meng Qingtong asked cautiously.

“We will investigate and verify this later. Is there anything else?” Zhou Yi asked.

“It’s really gone this time.”

"If you remember any more clues, tell Director Cai."

"Definitely, definitely." Seeing Zhou Yi stand up, Meng Qingtong said expectantly, "Boss, if Wang Ronghai is caught based on the clues I provided, you must remember that I deserve credit for my informant."

Zhou Yi pointed at him and said, "Meng Qingtong, study hard and get on the right path. Don't wait until you're in jail to put on a show of regret. Do you hear me?"

Meng Qingtong nodded repeatedly.

After saying goodbye to Cai Lei, Zhou Yi drove off back to Hongcheng.

Not long after I drove off, I saw a small restaurant by the roadside and realized that I hadn't had lunch yet, so I stopped to eat something.

It was already afternoon, and the owner and the cook were watching TV, looking rather bored.

Zhou Yi ordered a Kung Pao Chicken rice bowl and added a bottle of soda.

The cook didn't slack off; he quickly cooked the rice and then sat down to watch TV with the owner.

As Zhou Yi ate his meal, he pondered the connections between Meng Qingtong, Wang Ronghai, and the June 14th case.

Meng Qingtong has confessed to everything, including the charges of fraud and intentional injury. For someone like him who has been imprisoned twice, getting a reduced sentence is his biggest concern right now.

But why didn't he confess about Wang Ronghai before I came to try and get a reduced sentence? I've thought about this question, and the answer is that the Huaiyang police didn't know about the fraud case he committed in Hongcheng at the time. If he had confessed about Wang Ronghai, it would have ultimately exposed the fraud case.

But as soon as he arrived, he knew that the fraud case had been exposed, so he immediately reported it to the authorities in hopes of gaining merit.

Wang Ronghai was a released prisoner, and according to Meng Qingtong's confession, he had a very low level of education, to the point that he could basically only write his own name.

It seems a bit difficult for such a rough and uncultured person to commit open robbery and then create a cold case like the June 14th case that leaves no trace.

Therefore, Zhou Yi still leans more towards the older brother that Wang Ronghai mentioned, because judging from the fact that Wang Ronghai moved away not long after failing to recruit Meng Qingtong, it is highly likely that this older brother asked him to do so, fearing that Wang Ronghai would be exposed if he stayed there any longer.

However, Wang Ronghai was not clever enough and warned Meng Qingtong, which only made things worse.

If Wang Ronghai had thought of this himself, he should have warned them when he failed to recruit them, instead of going through the trouble of moving out.

Human behavior and speech are all traceable, except for those of mental illness.

Adding to the clues about the pig's head meat, Zhou Yi suspected that the person who delivered the pig's head meat and the person who planned the bank robbery were the same person.

If we assume that this person is Li Yong, the fugitive wanted for the Luohe Gold Shop robbery, then it makes logical sense.

After escaping from Luohe, Li Yong hid in Hongcheng for some reason and became a small vendor selling pig's head meat.

Wang Ronghai and Li Yong were probably old acquaintances. After they met in Hongcheng, they began to plot a bank robbery, which led to the incident Meng Qingtong described.

But there were still two questions that Zhou Yi couldn't understand.

First, why bring in another person? Judging from the on-site investigation results of the June 14 case, one person couldn't handle it, but two people were more than enough. What was the purpose of bringing in Meng Qingtong? Was it Wang Ronghai's decision on his own, or was it Lao Qiang's idea?
Secondly, if Old Gun can hide for two years without being discovered, it means he's actually safe now. In that case, why would he suddenly want to rob a bank? Is he just restless and wants to pull off a big heist? Or is there some other reason that requires him to have some money?

Anyway, we need to go to Ankang Road to find a vegetable market and a stall selling pig's head meat.

Wait, Ankang Road!

Zhou Yi put down his chopsticks and said to the boss, "Boss, I'm going to get something from the car. Please don't take my bowl away."

The boss shook his head and continued watching TV.

Zhou Yi ran back to the car, took out a map of Hongcheng, and spread it out on the table to find the exact location of Ankang Road.

After finding it, he then looked for the location of the Linbei Road Savings Office where Han Weimin worked on the map.

Although both are in Qingshan District, they are eight or nine kilometers apart and obviously have little overlap.

He tried hard to recall where Han Jiajia's residential complex was located.

The hand moved across the map, eventually landing on the location of Han Jiajia's residential area.

This location is three blocks away from Ankang Road, which is quite a distance, but judging from the road conditions, it should be a place that Mr. and Mrs. Han Weimin pass through on their way to and from get off work.

Zhou Yi tapped the map and muttered to himself, "It should be right?" The boss and the chef curiously came over, then looked at each other in bewilderment.

The cook gestured to the boss, pointed at Zhou Yi's head, then shook his head with a look of disgust.

After finishing his meal and gulping down his soda, Zhou Yi put away the map, paid, and left.

As soon as I got in the car, I called Shi Tao.

"Team Leader Shi, are you busy? I have a case here..."

Before Zhou Yi could finish speaking, Shi Tao couldn't help but say, "No wonder they all say you're a human radar. How come your cases keep popping up like crazy? You've done in a month what we used to do in half a year, you know that?"

Zhou Yi was both amused and exasperated. What the heck? A human radar? Who came up with such a clever nickname for themselves?
"Team Leader Shi, here's what happened..." Then he recounted how he found Meng Qingtong.

Finally, Zhou Yi said, "Captain Shi, this case, keep it quiet, I won't tell anyone I'm involved, do you think that's okay?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Tao's expression immediately changed, and he couldn't suppress a smile as he asked, "Really?"

"Of course it's fake. I'm just here to run errands for Captain Shi."

Shi Tao stroked his chin and chuckled, "Old Wu didn't even tell him?"

Zhou Yi firmly stated, "I won't tell."

"Alright, Zhou Yi, that's a good deal." Shi Tao patted his chest and said, "If you ever can't make it in the Third Brigade, the door to my Second Brigade is always open for you."

Zhou Yi's lips twitched slightly, thinking to himself, "You have no idea what Captain Wu promised me." Nevertheless, he thanked Shi Tao, since he had originally intended to do Shi Tao a favor anyway.

Shi Tao is a straightforward person. If you give him some credit, he will definitely appreciate it.

Firstly, I don't lack merit now.

Secondly, if the person caught in the end is indeed Old Gun, then weakening one's own presence would actually be a good thing.

Thirdly, and especially importantly, if you want to climb the ladder, the appreciation of your superiors, your achievements, and your interpersonal relationships are all indispensable.

He needs to plan ahead for this and change his original way of thinking.

"What time will you be back? I'll follow your instructions on how to proceed," Shi Tao said readily.

……

As night falls, Ankang Road is bustling with people. The narrow asphalt road is full of potholes, and cyclists who ride by are sore from the bumpy ride that they can't help but curse.

On both sides of the road, there are low, old houses, and many people set up stalls by the roadside.

The Ankang Road area was transformed from a shantytown in the old city. It has a relatively high population density and cheap rents, attracting many small vendors and forming a bustling market street.

Of course, such places are often characterized by a mix of good and bad people, high population mobility, and relatively poor public security.

However, because the goods are cheap, especially groceries and daily necessities, nearby residents like to shop here.

Therefore, the vegetable market on Ankang Road is quite large. Basically, you can go in from one end of the road and come out from the other. The daily flow of people is at least 8,000 to 10,000.

There's a stall at the east end with no sign, but the market and regular customers all know it. It sells semi-cooked food, such as sausages, pig's head meat, and pig's ears.

Because of its delicious taste, it is well-known in the surrounding area and has many loyal customers who have been eating there for many years.

The stall owner was an old man who used to run a business with his wife. A few years ago, his wife passed away, leaving him all alone.

Everyone thought the old man behind the stall had quit, because he seemed to have lost his spirit after the old woman left, since the two of them had no children.

Many regular customers also felt it was a pity, as the old man's business was only sporadic.

A little over a year ago, a man in his forties appeared at the old man's food stall. The old man said he was his nephew, named Dazhuang.

Dazhuang initially helped the old man with the business, but gradually he took over the business himself, and the old man started coming much less often.

Customers all say that the old man's nephew is even better at making cooked food than his father.

Dazhuang was not good with words and didn't talk much. In the eyes of the surrounding merchants, he was an honest man.

Zhou Yi and Shi Tao first inquired with the market manager to find out how many stalls sold pig's head meat and the specific details of those stalls. They eventually identified a middle-aged man named Dazhuang.

Zhou Yi showed the administrator a photo of Li Yong's wanted poster and asked him if it was him.

After looking at it for a while, the administrator said, "The eyes and nose are somewhat similar, but Da Zhuang is much fatter than this person."

The wanted poster shows Li Yong as very thin, but weight can be changed, especially for thin people who can easily gain weight.

Shi Tao immediately arranged for people to block the entrances and exits at both ends of the market, and then he and Zhou Yi went to confirm whether Da Zhuang was indeed Li Yong, the wanted criminal from Heluo who was on the run.

(End of this chapter)