When Tong Haojing investigated the residents of the Agricultural Machinery Company, the old buildings and dilapidated public facilities made him feel that this was a forgotten corner of the city. Fortunately, several aunties sitting on stone benches knew that people lived here. When he asked about a household with the surname Fang, the neighbors all turned pale at the mention of them and avoided talking about their situation. However, they were especially sympathetic toward the little girl in that household. When he asked why, they only shook their heads.
A deep, narrow alley led straight to the Fang family home. Tong Haojing entered cautiously. The Fang family's front door was tightly shut, and no one was inside. Tong Haojing left the alley and asked Aunt Qin, who was chatting nearby, "Where's the owner of this house?"
"Shh— You never see him during the day!" Aunt Qin wore a frightened expression that made it seem as though the Fang family must be hiding something shameful.
"Do you know him?"
"I do, but he rarely shows himself! He usually keeps to himself. You only see him when he picks up or drops off Xiao Yanni."
Tong Haojing decided to return that night. He then visited more than twenty households in succession, recording the important details and capturing everything he saw and heard with his recorder. At this pace, covering the entire community should not be a problem, Tong Haojing calculated with satisfaction, a relaxed smile appearing on his face. But when he remembered that Director Tang had asked him to become "familiar" with the area, he frowned again.
Tong Haojing was a little tired, and his stomach was already growling. Ahead of him stood a noodle shop fragrant with meat. It was Longmen Lane Noodle Shop, the most famous noodle shop in West City. He decided to eat two liang of blanket noodles before continuing. The blanket noodle shop in Longmen Alley had once been a wildly popular old eatery with a century of history. Its most distinctive and flavorful specialty was the fragrant mashed peas in the bowl, leaving people wanting more. Countless diners came here for noodles morning, noon, and night.
The noodles were delicious. After finishing two liang, Tong Haojing savored the lingering taste of the blanket noodles as he walked down Hongqiao Street, preoccupied with his thoughts. Looking at the colorful electronic billboards lining the street, he suddenly thought of something. After only a few steps, a young man on a motorcycle bounced twice along an alley ahead, and a tightly wrapped item fell from his bike. He did not notice and continued onward. Tong Haojing saw it and called out twice, but the young man did not respond. Instead, he sped up.
A young man emerging from the crowd saw the scene. Without a word, he bent down and picked up the item. He examined the wrapping, then suddenly turned to look in the direction the motorcycle had gone. After running a few steps, he nervously made a phone call, then angrily tore open the package.
Tong Haojing stepped forward to stop him.
"Is that yours?"
"...Yeah, I... I, it's mine!" Caught off guard by Tong Haojing's sudden question, the young man froze. Faced with such a tall man, his guilty conscience made him stammer. He did not dare meet Tong Haojing's eyes, and his hands unconsciously tried to restore the packaging. But in his panic, he could not put it back together no matter what he did, and his hands began to tremble.
Tong Haojing could not help laughing inwardly. What a shameless person. His skin is really thick!
"Is it really yours?!"
The young man said nothing more, still frantically trying to figure out how to restore it to its original state.
"If it isn't yours, don't greedily claim it. The owner will be here soon. Let's see how you explain yourself then."
"I called the police!" the young man suddenly said.
"What? You still dare to call the police?" Tong Haojing had never expected to see a thief crying thief in broad daylight. More absurdly, the man was using the police to threaten an actual police officer. It was utterly ridiculous.
"Let me tell you, I'm a police officer!"
"Ah, you're a police officer? You wouldn't be..." The young man looked surprised and excited, then stared suspiciously at Tong Haojing. Could he be impersonating one?
"How did you get here so quickly?"
Tong Haojing sensed that something was off. He took out his credentials and showed them to the young man.
Only then did the young man straighten up and say righteously, "Officer, this thing is mine. It contains an electronic product, a high-capacity USB drive. That man on the motorcycle must be a thief!"
"How can you be sure this belongs to you?" Tong Haojing still did not completely trust the young man.
"I sell electronics, and I'm the only one in the whole city who sells USB drives with this much capacity. I don't know that guy, and I never sold him anything like this. My shop is at No. 54 Longmen Alley in West City." As he spoke, the young man took out his ID card.
Tong Haojing believed him, and his face burned with embarrassment.
A patrol car with flashing lights screeched to a stop in front of Tong Haojing. Two officers got out, escorting a handcuffed man.
"Young man, take a look at your goods," said Officer Lan from the police station. Tong Haojing immediately recognized the handcuffed man being escorted by Officer Lan and Lu Tong as the guy who had ridden the motorcycle earlier.
The young man hurried over.
"Where's my stuff?" He glared furiously at the thief, who had his head lowered.
"It's in the car. Fill out a receipt for it. This punk is a drug addict. He'll steal anything!" Officer Lan said excitedly.
"Okay. Thank you, officers."
Tong Haojing felt somewhat embarrassed in front of Officers Lan and Lu. I nearly made the mistake of treating a drug-addicted thief as the victim.
Tong Haojing was about to go over and apologize when the young man beat him to it. "Officer, I'm sorry. I thought you were the thief's accomplice!"
Tong Haojing did not know whether to laugh or cry. Then he suddenly remembered that he needed a high-capacity USB drive just like this.
"Young man, how large is that USB drive? Get me one with the biggest capacity!"
"The largest is 4TB. I'll give you one!"
"No. How much is one?"
"Then I'll charge you cost price: six hundred yuan even!"
"Fine!" Tong Haojing paid. The young man collected his stolen goods and left, while Officer Lan and Lu Tong escorted the thief back to the police station.
The sun had set in the west, and night was gradually deepening. Tong Haojing guessed that the Fang resident at the Agricultural Machinery Company might have returned home. He called Old Jiang and said he would not be back at the station before eight. Since Tong Haojing had become Old Jiang's apprentice, Old Jiang had set a rule for him: "If you leave the station at night, you have to call me."
This was also Tang Changan's requirement.
Tong Haojing told Old Jiang about buying the portable hard drive. Old Jiang was silent for quite a while before complaining over the phone, "Xiao Tong, you acted first and reported afterward. You have more authority than the director. Deal with it yourself!" Old Jiang's words were not without reason. What Director Tang valued most was the authority to sign with his own pen. Nothing better demonstrated the director's authority than that. A green rookie had actually dared to take away that pen. The consequences were easy to imagine.
Tong Haojing had not expected Old Jiang to react this way. He no longer intended to ask the director for reimbursement. "Then forget it!" Tong Haojing was clearly upset. Old Jiang thought for a moment. Tong Haojing had never dealt with financial matters, so he could hardly blame him for not knowing. He deliberately comforted him, saying, "We'll have to wait for another opportunity."
It was already late. Under the dim lights, Tong Haojing was not very familiar with the route through the Agricultural Machinery Company. He circled around twice before reaching the building. A resident stared at him, recognized him, and said, "Isn't this the new household registration officer, Tong?" Before long, several people had gathered around Tong Haojing, chattering about everything big and small in West City. Tong Haojing patiently explained things to them one by one.
The streetlamp on the ground floor of the Agricultural Machinery Company was broken, leaving the place without light. Relying on his memory from that morning, Tong Haojing entered the pitch-black passageway. After walking more than ten steps, he finally saw a beam of light shining through a door crack. Tong Haojing was secretly delighted. Someone's home!
Tong Haojing knocked on the door. "Knock, knock." After waiting a long while, a little girl's voice finally came from inside. "Who is it?"
"Police," Tong Haojing said.
The little girl pressed her eye to the peephole and peeked outside. She saw an uncle who appeared to be wearing a police uniform. Trusting him completely, she opened the door. A little girl of about ten, with a ponytail and a flesh-colored miniskirt, appeared before Tong Haojing.
"Uncle, are you looking for my dad?" The little girl's childish voice was piercing. Tong Haojing could hardly believe his eyes. Her mature appearance was completely mismatched with her childish voice. As he was wondering about it, she spoke again. "My dad went out to buy food. He'll be back soon!" The little girl looked innocent and adorable.
"You haven't eaten yet?" Tong Haojing asked.
"Mm!" The little girl turned and climbed onto the table to get a teacup. "Uncle, come in and have some tea!" Her politeness immediately filled Tong Haojing with affection and pity.
"What does your father do?" Tong Haojing asked.
"He doesn't have a job. He spends a lot of time outside and only comes back when he cooks for me. His name is Cuntoucao." Tong Haojing vaguely remembered from Old Jiang's files that someone named Fang Shi had the nickname Cuntoucao, though he could not recall what he did. So this was the little girl's father.
"Where's your mother?" Tong Haojing looked at a photograph of a beautiful woman on the wall.
"Mom left!" The little girl's eyes welled up with tears, full of sorrow. She rubbed her eyes with her hand.
"Is that your mom? She's very pretty!" Tong Haojing asked.
"Mm!" The little girl cried. She was always afraid when people mentioned her mother. Other children had mothers, but she had never seen hers, and people often mocked her for it.
Tong Haojing was affected by her emotions and nearly lost control. A sudden feeling of desolation filled his heart. This little girl had clearly experienced something unusual. He asked her name, age, and about her schooling.
The little girl calmed down from her sorrow and said, "My name is Fang Yanni. I just turned ten this year, and I go to school in West City."
West City Primary School was a private elementary school with extremely high tuition fees. It was five kilometers away from Hongqiao Community.
"You go that far?" Tong Haojing was somewhat surprised. As they spoke, he noticed that Yanni's home was extremely bare. There was little more than an old dining table and a faded bamboo-slat sofa set crookedly to one side. On it sat a small foil packet that had already been opened and appeared empty. Tong Haojing sharply sensed something. He looked at the innocent, lively, adorable Xiao Yanni. How could she be living in a household like this?
"Are you not scared when your father isn't back?" Tong Haojing suddenly asked again.
Before you continue