Chapter 58.2: Impossible to Enjoy Eating in Peace
So Zhao Youde began saving, little by little.
He went to a larger hospital in the city and paid to see a specialist. The specialist said his leg could be treated, but not only would it still never fully recover, he would also need surgery—and the cost was far beyond what he could afford.
He went to see a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. The practitioner prescribed several courses of medicine, but they were completely useless too.
Zhao Youde became utterly disheartened.
Just when he thought his leg would never heal and that he would have to spend the rest of his life wandering outside, he encountered an itinerant master who had happened to travel there.
The moment they met, the man told Zhao Youde that they were destined to meet. He even read Zhao Youde’s fortune for him, and every single thing he said was uncannily accurate.
The master told him that he had a better medicine for his condition. It was a miraculous remedy made primarily from the bones of a tiger that had lived for a hundred years and become a mountain lord. It could heal him through the principle of “like cures like,” and with the addition of a specific secret ritual, it would definitely restore his leg.
Zhao Youde believed him again.
The master didn’t ask for money, only spoke of their karmic connection and told him to give whatever amount he wished. Zhao Youde gave the man half of his savings in exchange for the miraculous medicine.
And the medicine really did work.
He took it for three consecutive days. During those three days, his leg genuinely didn’t hurt, and he could even walk quickly. But after the third day, the pain gradually returned, becoming even worse than before.
Zhao Youde panicked.
He went looking for the master, but waited at the place where they’d met for several days without ever seeing him again. Finally, he gave up.
He carefully went over what the master had told him and became convinced that the problem was that he hadn’t taken the medicine according to the prescribed timing.
But the tiger bones were already gone.
What else could be as nourishing as tiger bones?
Zhao Youde’s thoughts gradually turned toward human beings, and then, little by little, toward children.
That’s right. What could nourish a human more than another human? Children’s bones were still growing. They could survive injuries that many adults couldn’t endure. They possessed the greatest vitality of all.
With that thought in mind, Zhao Youde abducted a child. Taking advantage of his access to the morgue, he boiled and ate the child’s leg, then buried the remains in the appropriate place.
But his leg still didn’t heal.
The person must have been wrong. The ritual must have been wrong!
As long as he performed it correctly, his leg would definitely heal!
Driven mad, Zhao Youde bought related ancient texts and began studying them himself. They were incredibly profound and difficult to understand, but that didn’t matter. He had already figured out what he needed to do.
He turned his gaze toward the elementary school in the distance.
There were still two left. As long as he caught them and killed them together on the seventh day of the seventh month, then ate their leg bones, his right leg would definitely grow back.
Then he could go home and see his parents, his wife, and his children.
He wondered how they were doing now.
Without their eldest brother working to support the family, could they still get by?
Zhao Youde was filled with worry.
As he worried, he also began imagining what it would be like to go home.
Two local police officers gradually approached from the distance.
One was old, the other young. Both were wearing police uniforms and carrying a sheet of paper.
Zhao Youde didn’t try to hide at all. He simply sat quietly on the curb.
He’d seen plenty of police officers these past few days, and not one of them had paid any attention to a filthy, foul-smelling sanitation worker like him.
Just as he’d expected.
The two officers were both staring at the sheet of paper, muttering to each other as they walked. Zhao Youde couldn’t make out what they were saying.
As they muttered, the younger officer raised his head and casually glanced around.
The moment he saw Zhao Youde sitting casually on the curb, he froze.
For a second or two, he stood there in stunned silence. Then he suddenly lowered his head to look at the paper, then back at Zhao Youde. He repeatedly compared the two while nudging the older officer with his elbow.
“Master, look!”
“Hm?”
The older officer was still scanning the pedestrians on the road. Completely puzzled by his apprentice’s sudden excitement, he turned his head—and was instantly stunned.
‘Good Lord! This sanitation worker’s face looks exactly like the one on the paper!’
He took three quick strides forward, one hand resting on his gun, and stopped directly in front of Zhao Youde, who was still drinking water.
“Are you Zhao Youde?”
“That’s me.”
Zhao Youde lowered his water bottle and looked up at the two officers surrounding him, somewhat puzzled.
“I’ve never seen you two before. How’d you know who I was?”
His reaction left the older officer somewhat bewildered.
‘Did we get the wrong man?’
After a brief pause, he asked again, “Is your right leg crippled?”
“Yeah!”
Zhao Youde slapped his thigh.
“Oh, Comrade Police, you have no idea how despicable that construction foreman was! My leg got crushed, and he wouldn’t even take me to the hospital. He dragged it out until my leg was ruined!”
Watching Zhao Youde complain in front of him as though he were about to cry, the veteran officer’s expression gradually went numb.
He took a deep breath and said to his apprentice:
“Quick, arrest him!”
The younger officer was just as bewildered. He had never encountered anyone like this before, but upon hearing his master’s command, he immediately lunged forward and pinned the man face-down on the ground.
The water bottle slipped from Zhao Youde’s hand as well, rolling away before coming to rest on its side. Water gurgled out onto the ground.
Zhao Youde struggled as he watched the water spill onto the pavement, knowing he could no longer drink it. His heart ached.
“What are you doing?! That’s boiled water I made myself! Do you have any idea how hard it is to save up coal coupons?!”
‘This guy is unbelievable.’
The veteran officer rubbed his face. He ignored the man’s shouting, his heart gradually filling with delight.
They were going to make a major contribution!
“Get him back to the station immediately and interrogate him until he tells us where those three children are!”
*
After waiting ages for a bus, switching from Route 6 to Route 11, Jiang Xia finally made it back to the Municipal Public Security Bureau.
The first thing she saw was Xu Changsong’s beaming face.
He was grinning so broadly he practically looked like a chrysanthemum.
“We found him! We found all of them!”
Even Xu Changsong hadn’t expected things to go this smoothly. His voice was filled with excitement, and he was practically an octave louder than usual as he told Jiang Xia,
“Not long after we sent the portraits out, Dongfeng Police Station caught him. Zhao Youde was actually lying in wait right beside Hongxing Elementary School. He’d even disguised himself as a sanitation worker. He never would’ve dreamed that we’d have his portrait! They recognized him immediately!”
“The station interrogated him quickly, too. It didn’t take long before they got him to reveal where he’d hidden the children. They were in the courtyard he rented. They’d been tied up for a while, so their hands and feet were a little bruised, but fortunately it wasn’t serious. They’ve already been taken to the hospital for examination.”
It was the height of summer, and Jiang Xia was already dizzy and groggy from the bus ride. She hadn’t expected such good news when she got back, and her spirits immediately lifted.
“That fast?”
“Yep. That fast.”
Xu Changsong’s grin remained stretched across his face.
“We even got the whole story out of him.”
After briefly explaining the situation, Xu Changsong said angrily, “That man was both stupid and stubborn. He fell for whatever nonsense someone told him, and instead of learning his lesson, he only went further and further, actually killing a child. If we hadn’t stopped him, he’d have at least five more lives on his hands!”
“And that con artist wasn’t any better.”
“He was probably just selling fake medicine. There was probably some kind of painkiller mixed into it, which completely fooled the man and left him crippled.”
Jiang Xia couldn’t help feeling deeply troubled by what she’d heard. In China, someone capable of doing something like this really could be exactly that kind of person—stupid, ignorant, and stubborn all at once. Most likely with some intellectual impairment, yet still capable of taking care of himself. And then, somehow, he had a sudden flash of inspiration, and what he did was genuinely—
‘Sigh.’
Still, when she thought about how vicious his actions had been, enough to likely send him straight to the afterlife, Jiang Xia’s mood improved somewhat.
“We’ve also gotten the murder case sorted out. We found out where the murder weapon and the stolen money were hidden.”
The more Xu Changsong talked about someone like this, the angrier he became, so he didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he continued, “Old Wang just called to say they’ve recovered them. He’s bringing them back now. With the evidence as solid as a mountain, the case is basically solved. The only one we haven’t caught yet is Chang Guangxin, who supposedly went to the capital for a trip.”
As he spoke, Xu Changsong looked at Jiang Xia, liking her more and more while simultaneously feeling more and more regretful.
She’d only been here for two days, yet she’d already helped crack two cases. And each time, her portraits had played a crucial role.
How could someone this talented not be from Quzhou?!
“Jiang Xia, you haven’t really had much time to rest either. Tomorrow, take the day off with Rong Zhenhai and the others. The day after tomorrow, Expert Chen will be leaving, so we’ll have lunch together and see him off. As for you, stay another couple of days and get some proper rest before you leave. There’s no need to rush back and forth so much. You might not adapt well to the change in climate, and then you’ll go home and get sick.”
As he calculated in his mind whether there was any chance of persuading her to stay—and if not, how he might keep her around a little longer—Xu Changsong smiled and said,
“We have a very famous private restaurant here. Apparently, they hired a retired master chef from a state-run grand hotel in the provincial capital. His peppercorn-spiced fish is absolutely incredible. You have to try it.”
“I’ll definitely give it a try.”
After all, Jiang Xia wasn’t Expert Chen yet, with cases from all over the country constantly coming in and begging for his help. She was still relatively free, so she might as well take another couple of days to rest, look around the city, and pick up some local specialties for her parents—especially her older sister.
After all, on this trip, her sister had taken quite a lot of the blame on her behalf.
‘Hmm… I should probably get something to calm Mom and Dad’s nerves, too.’
With that in mind, Jiang Xia had a good night’s rest. She asked Forensic Doctor Hu what specialties the city was known for, then dragged Lu Yixing out shopping the next day.
Unexpectedly, Lu Yixing already had a shopping list prepared, complete with notes on what to buy for whom.
“I thought you treated this whole thing as just another work assignment.”
Jiang Xia glanced over the list. At the very top were his grandfather, aunt, and uncle. Further down, after his mother, there were Uncle Qin and his younger brother and sister.
Her eyes flickered slightly.
So there really weren’t many people in his immediate family. And judging by the rest of the list, it seemed his mother had remarried long ago, but they were still in contact.
‘Not a bad family atmosphere.’
Then again, if his family environment had been terrible, they probably wouldn’t have raised someone with his personality.
Jiang Xia copied down a few of the gift ideas and casually remarked, “Didn’t expect you to be planning a big shopping spree too.”
“I just figured I’d pick up a few things if I got the chance. If I couldn’t, then never mind.”
Lu Yixing smiled. “Besides, bringing home some interesting little things to make everyone happy is pretty nice.”
“Agreed.”
Jiang Xia snapped her fingers.
“Then let’s get shopping!”
The two of them spent the entire day walking around and buying things. It was the first time Lu Yixing had discovered just how much energy Jiang Xia had. Jiang Xia, meanwhile, was equally amazed that he could carry things around with her the entire day without getting the least bit impatient.
‘Pretty good stamina.’
Meanwhile, while Jiang Xia was busy on her shopping spree, Xu Changsong and the others were getting a little busier.
After taking a short rest, they immediately started frantically searching for a suitable case.
They couldn’t afford to move slowly.
Changning had already called again to hurry them along.
The limited-time trial card had started counting down!
…
The next day.
Xu Changsong, Chen Yongyi, Jiang Xia, and the others arrived at the private restaurant.
The restaurant wasn’t very large, but the decor was decent. It was obvious that it had only recently been renovated, and business was booming. It was barely lunchtime, yet every table in the main dining area was already occupied.
A flower carp more than a foot long lay on a long blue-and-white porcelain platter. Red chili segments, chopped green chilies, and Sichuan peppercorns bobbed across the fish and around the plate, releasing a fragrant, spicy aroma that made one’s mouth water.
“The new chef at this place was a fantastic choice. This fish is absolutely incredible. Once you’ve had it, you never forget it.”
A customer chatted with his companion. “I’ve already been here three times this month. My wallet can’t take much more.”
“That’s why they say food and drink can bankrupt you.”
His companion laughed. “After this meal, we’re not allowed back here for the rest of the month.”
…
Young people could handle heavily seasoned food, but Expert Chen couldn’t exactly eat like that anymore. He wasn’t young, and if he ate something too spicy before getting on a train, there was no telling whether it would upset his stomach.
Rong Zhenhai hurriedly explained, “Don’t worry, Expert Chen. I asked beforehand. The chef here doesn’t just know Sichuan cuisine; he also knows Huaiyang cuisine. We’ve already ordered some dishes for you.”
“It’s fine. I can handle spicy food too.”
Chen Yongyi chuckled. “Back when food didn’t have much flavor, I relied on scallions, mashed garlic, and chili peppers to give it some taste.”
“Come, come. Let’s get inside.”
Xu Changsong ushered everyone into the private room.
They took their seats.
A waiter came over to confirm the order, then had the cold dishes that had been prepared in advance brought out.
The private room was fairly nice. It had a round table with a rotating center. The waiter carried a dish platter in his left hand, gave the tabletop a firm push with his right, and then placed the four cold dishes on the table one after another as it rotated.
Once he was finished, the waiter turned and left.
“I have to say, the service at private restaurants really is a little better than at state-run ones.”
Xu Changsong said, “If you don’t mention who you are, the state-run restaurants won’t even give you the time of day. But if you do mention your position, people keep coming over to make small talk. It’s exhausting.”
‘That’s putting it mildly.’ Not beating the customers and still serving them a proper meal was already pretty good.
After all, the employees at state-run restaurants were paid fixed wages. Whether they sold anything or not, they got paid, so naturally they didn’t take ordinary customers very seriously.
Chen Yongyi didn’t particularly enjoy socializing either. He nodded in agreement.
“We don’t care about all that. Being able to sit down and eat a meal quietly is already good enough.”
As they talked, the lazy spinning of the turntable gradually slowed, and a plate of preserved-egg-and-tofu finally came to a stop in front of Jiang Xia.
Jiang Xia lowered her eyes and glanced at it.
Some of the tofu cubes were soaking in the sauce, while others were stacked on top. Against the dark preserved eggs and brownish sauce, they looked exceptionally white—so white they practically resembled fresh white paint for plastering walls.
Xu Changsong and Chen Yongyi were still busy complimenting each other.
Jiang Xia, however, stared down at the tofu for several seconds, a bad feeling slowly rising in her heart.
She remembered that freshly made tofu from the local workshops was milky white with a slight yellow tinge, rather like powdered soybean milk. It wasn’t supposed to be this white.
‘Unless… they’d added a whitening agent.’
But that sort of thing wouldn’t come into use until after the turn of the millennium, and would have been subject to food-safety regulations. There was no such thing here.
So if they wanted to make tofu this white, they might not have much technology at their disposal—but whatever they were using was definitely the nasty kind.
Jiang Xia suddenly had a feeling that, in all likelihood, she wasn’t going to be able to enjoy this meal in peace.