Science: The Little Shota of the Maori Family

290. The client is Shizuka Hattori

Time passes day by day, sometimes leisurely, sometimes busy, and in the blink of an eye, it is New Year.

〖物品：气血丸秘方（新年特价：1万）、幸运符（新年特价：5000）、无需培育的玫瑰花种子（新年特价：1000）、疗伤药（新年特价：1000）、Aptx-4869一小时解药（新年特价：1000）〗.

〖Recover 1% of your physical function: (New Year special offer: 2 points)〗

Skills: Beginner - Sign Language (New Year Special: 50), Master - Carving (New Year Special: 500), Proficient - Fishing (New Year Special: 5000), Master - Acting (New Year Special: 5)

Qi and Blood Pills: After taking, they are digested and exercised, which can replenish blood, nourish blood, nourish yin, nourish the liver and kidneys, and unclog blood vessels.

Note: The New Year "August 13" special offer is unique. After players refresh the mall, items and skills will return to their original prices.

Watanabe Toru looked at the panel. At this moment, he felt like an ordinary person who was reluctant to buy gold on weekdays, but one day he found that gold had become as cheap as cabbage, and he was the only one who had this treatment.

This is definitely a rare opportunity for a large purchase. He now has a total of 120,000 points, and a 50% off coupon for the mall. With discounts on top of discounts, his happiness level is maxed out.

After careful consideration, Watanabe Toru purchased the secret recipe for Qi and Blood Pills, five healing medicines, five Aptx-4869 antidotes, and master-level acting skills. The remaining points were all exchanged for physical function recovery, increasing it from 12% to 16%.

……

January 5th, two days have passed since the New Year.

Maori Detective Agency.

Kogoro Mouri, who hadn't taken care of himself for several days, was talking on the phone with a sloppy look on his face, but his eyes and attention were all on the horse racing game on the TV in front of him.

"Huh? You're looking for someone?"

"But I'm really sorry, I have too many cases on hand right now..."

"what--"

Maori Kogoro's perfunctory excuses suddenly became sharp, and he almost threw himself on the TV, his face full of regret: "Damn it, I bought the wrong thing again..."

"Mr. Maori? Mr. Maori, what's wrong with you?"

The client's concerned voice came from the receiver, but it inappropriately became Kogoro Mouri's punching bag.

"Didn't I tell you I'm busy right now... uh..."

The roar paused. Maori Kogoro looked at Xiaolan, who was glaring at him with a duster in her hand, and changed his tone abruptly. He said in a gentle voice, "Well... since you are already downstairs, let's talk. Okay... then I will be waiting for you."

After Maori Kogoro hung up the phone, Xiaolan said dissatisfiedly: "Dad, you have to work hard."

"Got it." Maori Kogoro leaned back in his chair listlessly and complained in an exaggerated tone: "If you ask me, it's probably another case of 'Mr. Maori, can you please help me find my first love?' My hunch is right."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a knock on the door.

"Huh? Are you here so soon?" Xiaolan looked towards the door and said, "Come in."

With the sound of the door being pushed open, a beautiful woman in kimono walked in.

She looked to be in her early thirties, with skin as white as snow, black hair neatly and methodically tied behind her head, and natural makeup that highlighted her ladylike demeanor.

"I'm Ikenami, the one who called just now," the beautiful woman introduced herself. "I'm really sorry to have come to visit you so unexpectedly, but I heard from a friend that if I could just talk to Mr. Mori, he'd definitely be able to help me find the person I want to see. So, I'll leave this matter to you."

After saying that, he bowed deeply.

Unexpectedly, the client turned out to be Hattori Shizuka, Heiji's mother.

Watanabe Toru looked at that beautiful yet gentle face, and the related plot also emerged in his mind.

"You're welcome." Xiaolan quickly returned the greeting: "Please come in and sit down first, Dad... Eh? Where did Dad go? Xiaoche, did you see him?"

After just a brief encounter, Kogoro Mouri disappeared.

"No." Watanabe Toru shook his head, then thought of something and looked towards the direction of the room.

Sure enough, the next moment, the door opened.

Kogoro Mouri came out wearing a white suit, tie, and clean-shaven beard, and walked straight towards Shizuka Hattori.

really……

Watanabe Toru rolled his eyes, revealing an expression of, "As expected..."

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, miss." Maori Kogoro said in a gentle voice, showing his gentlemanly demeanor to the fullest: "I just went to check on a few difficult cases, so I was delayed for a while."

"It's okay." Hattori Shizuka's brows softened and she smiled, "I'm sorry for disturbing you."

"Please sit on the sofa. This way, you can calm down before we talk." Maori Kogoro politely asked Hattori Shizuka to sit down, then turned to Xiaolan and instructed: "Xiaolan, go get some drinks."

Xiaolan: "..."

……

After Hattori Shizuka explained her purpose, Maori Kogoro frowned and said, "So the person you are looking for is your middle school classmate."

Hattori Shizuka nodded slightly: "Yes, we were both members of the Kendo Club back then."

"In that case, aren't the addresses of graduates recorded in the yearbook?"

Hattori Shizuka explained: "Because he suddenly moved before we graduated, his address is vacant."

As she spoke, she pulled out a photo from her bag. "I brought our photo from back then too. The guy standing in the middle holding the trophy is the one I'm looking for. His name is Shibata Shiro."

"Could that little girl standing next to him be..." Kogoro Mouri pointed at the only girl in the photo.

Hattori Shizuka covered her mouth and chuckled: "Yes, this girl is me. This is an old photo taken thirty years ago."

"Thirty, thirty years ago?" Hattori Shizuka's words startled Maori Kogoro, who looked incredulous. "So, you're already over forty?"

"Yes, I'm 42 years old this year." Hattori Shizuka smiled. "But when he took this photo, he was still an eighth-grade student. I think he must be taller now than he was then."

Maori Kogoro was silent for a moment, then asked seriously: "Could you please tell me your interests?"

Hattori Shizuka hesitated for a moment and said, "Yes, but I'm not very familiar with him."

"No, I mean your interests."

"Ah?" Hattori Shizuka was stunned for a moment, then chuckled and said, "I like knitting things."

291. First love?

"That's a really good interest of yours." Kogoro Mori made no secret of his admiration for Shizuka Hattori.

Xiaolan brought two cups of coffee over, placed them in front of them, and said with a smile, "Then your interests are the same as my mother's."

Maori Kogoro glared at Ran, unhappy that she had mentioned Kisaki Eri at this time. But when he turned to Hattori Shizuka, he smiled again and said, "You must be very good at cooking, right?"

Hattori Shizuka waved her hands and smiled sheepishly: "No, I don't know anything about cooking. Take last night for example, I finally tried to stir-fry something and I cut my fingers three times."

"That's nothing." Maori Kogoro changed his words: "A person needs some flaws to be more attractive."

"Yes, yes, my mother is the same." Xiaolan agreed.

Maori Kogoro:"……"

Watanabe Toru, who was sitting on the sofa, almost laughed out loud.

Hattori Shizuka sighed softly: "I can say that I have no advantages at all. No wonder I am still alone at the age of 30."

Hattori Shizuka's words instantly made Maori Kogoro as excited as if he had been injected with chicken blood. He leaned forward suddenly with a burning look in his eyes, as if he had seen a priceless treasure.

"So you're still single?"

"Yes."

Maori Kogoro was a little bit unbelievable: "You are such a beautiful lady, but no one knows how to appreciate you. Those men around you are simply blind."

"That's right." Xiaolan was picking on me again. "You and my mother really do share the same suffering. I don't understand how anyone could fail to appreciate that."

Maori Kogoro finally couldn't stand it anymore and glared at Xiaolan: "Have you had enough?"

"Cough cough cough..."

Hattori Shizuka suddenly coughed, attracting the attention of the Mori father and daughter again.

"What's wrong with you? Do you have a cold?" asked Kogoro Mouri with concern.

Hattori Shizuka shook her head: "No, it's just that my bronchial tubes are naturally bad and are particularly sensitive to dust."

Hearing this, Xiaolan felt a little embarrassed: "I'm so sorry, it must be the dust I raised when I was cleaning just now."

"In that case, let's talk somewhere else," said Kogoro Mouri.

Hattori Shizuka coughed a few more times: "I'm really sorry to trouble you, cough cough cough..."

Cafe downstairs.

Maori Kogoro looked at Hattori Shizuka and raised his eyebrows. "Photos? You mean, you want Mr. Shibata to return the photos to you, so you asked me to help you find him?"

Hattori Shizuka nodded. "Yes, that photo was taken when I won the semifinals of the summer sports competition in my third year of junior high school. The only commemorative photo I had was taken a few days ago when my grandmother threw the medal I won into the trash, mistaking it for something else. So I thought I'd at least have a photo to keep as a souvenir."

"But why is your photo with him?" asked Kogoro Mouri curiously.

Hattori Shizuka explained: "I once borrowed a book from him, but the photo accidentally got stuck inside the book. I didn't notice it at the time and returned the book to him."

Maori Kogoro suddenly became a little nervous: "This Mr. Shibata is not your first love, right?"

Hattori Shizuka was stunned and shook her head: "Of course not."

Maori Kogoro breathed a sigh of relief and continued to ask: "Then, besides this, do you have any other clues?"

"Well..."

Hattori Shizuka rubbed her chin and fell into deep thought.

Watanabe Toru knew it was impossible to find the person involved relying on Maori Kogoro's wisdom, so he directly reminded him, "Uncle, since the brother in the photo is holding the trophy, he must be very good at kendo, right? So, is it possible that he is also participating in some kendo competitions now?"

Everyone was stunned!

Hattori Shizuka looked at Watanabe Toru with some surprise.

Maori Kogoro pinched his chin and said thoughtfully, "That makes sense. If Mr. Shibata has participated in a competition recently, it should be easy to find him. I will contact Inspector Megure immediately and ask him for help."

The four returned to the office and after contacting Inspector Megure, they learned that Shibata Shiro had once participated in the social group of the Shizuoka competition and was now working as a physical education teacher at Shizuoka High School.

So, the group decided to go to Shizuoka Prefecture.

……

When we arrived in Shizuoka, it was already dark.

According to the address given by Inspector Megure, Kogoro Mouri and others came to the apartment rented by Shiro Shibata.

I rang the doorbell, but after a long time, there was no movement from inside.

"It seems like no one is home." said Kogoro Mouri.

"Could he have gone out?" Xiaolan guessed, "After all, today is Sunday."

Maori Kogoro thought it made sense: "In that case, let's go for a walk around the neighborhood first and come back later."

As they were about to leave, a middle-aged man walked towards them. Seeing Maori Kogoro and his group, he asked, "Are you here to see Mr. Shibata?"

"Yes." Kogoro Mouri nodded.

"Then you better tell me what you want to say quickly. He will come to my house to play mahjong soon." said the middle-aged man.

"But, it seems Mr. Shibata is not at home."

"Not at home? How is that possible? I thought he must be sleeping." The man stepped forward, grasped the door handle, turned it, and the door opened.

He turned around and said, "See, I said he was sleeping at home."

　030 Several people walked into the house together and heard the sound of TV playing from the entrance.

The middle-aged man was speechless and said, "Really? He didn't lock the door and didn't even turn off the TV before going to bed. Hey... Shibata, we're about to start."

The middle-aged man went to find Shibata Shiro, and Maori Kogoro and the others walked into the restaurant. Seeing the leftovers on the table, Maori Kogoro said in surprise, "It seems that only half of the meal has been eaten?"

"The miso soup has gone cold, and even the rice has become hard." Xiaolan picked up the bowl on the dining table: "It looks more like breakfast."

Hattori Shizuka looked at the dining table and said with some regret: "It's a pity to waste such delicious food."

"Ju Ci?"

Hearing the unfamiliar words, Xiaolan and Maori Kogoro looked at Hattori Shizuka in confusion.

Hattori Shizuka smiled and explained, "It's the sweet snapper."

"That's right."

"I'm back, husband."