Tiannan College - Kapitel 15
Sure enough, a car horn was blaring outside.
"My guests have arrived. I'll go out to greet them." Zhang Zhi, who had been silent all along, stood up. Xiao Ju quickly instructed the servants to prepare several umbrellas and followed Zhang Zhi out to greet them.
The gate opened, and three cars filed in. Fortunately, the yard was spacious enough to park them. The lead car was the police chief's vehicle, and the two behind it were not clearly visible, but judging from the license plates, they were probably vehicles used by a consulate of some country.
As expected, the police chief didn't go inside first, but stood under his umbrella waiting for the passengers in the other two cars. The rain showed no sign of letting up, pounding heavily on everything it touched. Under the umbrella, the stern face was unforgettable; it was the Japanese consul. He bowed slightly to the police chief and walked towards the house first, followed quietly by five or six attendants. Zhang Zhi followed beside the chief and whispered a few words. The police chief looked somewhat puzzled and shook his head. Then he whispered a few more words to Zhang Zhi in a heated tone. Zhang Zhi didn't argue, holding his umbrella and following the seemingly agitated police chief.
As the hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Luo Xiuqing had already arrived at the door to greet them.
Everyone in the room was secretly wondering what the Japanese were doing here.
Twenty-five
A few minutes later, everyone had entered, and the door was closed again.
The Japanese consul sat comfortably next to Howard, leaning forward as if suffering from cervical spondylosis, nodding to everyone. The chubby man next to him, Mi Chong, always seemed somewhat drowsy, as if he needed a nap after a large meal.
Howard couldn't help but secretly admire the quiet and orderly procession that had just entered. Now, the five attendants stood in a row behind the consul, like wooden or stone sculptures; if it weren't for the need to blink and breathe, they would be indistinguishable from statues. One man's hair was still dripping wet. A servant offered him a towel, but he remained unmoved, showing no intention of taking it.
“Sir Consul, it’s not good to have damaged their expensive floor. Why don’t you have your entourage wipe up the rainwater?” Howard suggested with a smile.
Only after receiving the consul's permission did the attendants accept the towels.
"Our distinguished guests have arrived, so I, the storyteller, will stop rambling. Detective Zhang, you invited these guests, so I should hand over the hosting duties back to you," Jiaming said loudly after everyone had finished exchanging pleasantries.
"I really didn't expect such terrible weather today, everyone! I'm so sorry! I invited you all here today because we've obtained important evidence in the recent series of cases, and I'd like to invite you all here to discuss it together."
"A series of cases?" the Japanese consul asked in surprise, and Mi Chongzi hurriedly translated.
"Yes, after investigation, we found that there is a connection between the warehouse watchman case, the ball murder case, the Lichengxing warehouse fire case, the Wu Dazhong murder case, and the Feng Bingde murder case."
“In that case, why not provide it to the court and handle it according to legal procedures?” Howard, being a serious Englishman at heart, felt that Zhang Zhi’s approach seemed somewhat inappropriate.
“Mr. Howard, if I continue, you will understand that there are unavoidable reasons for this,” Zhang Zhi said confidently.
The police chief remained silent, looking at his shrewd and capable subordinate with a bad feeling. This kid was getting himself into trouble. The Japanese and the British were both difficult to deal with, yet this guy insisted on provoking them. He only had a few years left before retirement; if this kid dragged him down, it would be disastrous.
"Alright, let's get back to the main point. After investigation, we found a common clue at the scenes where Wu Dazhong, Feng Bingde, and the watchman were murdered: this thing," Zhang Zhi said, picking up a transparent plastic bag. Inside were several black, hair-like objects.
Luo Xiuqing suddenly remembered that he had been to the scene of the watchman's death, and Zhang Zhi had carefully kept such a thing at that time.
"After expert analysis, these are not human hair, but the hair of a special animal. Consul, you are very knowledgeable, please take a look." Zhang Zhi handed the contents of the plastic bag to the Japanese consul.
"What is this? Horsehair? I can't tell." After listening to the rice weevil's translation, the consul muttered to himself as he studied it.
"Everyone has heard of the famous Peking Opera 'The Prince Replaced by a Tanuki Cat,' which is about the fur of a famous tanuki cat. Mr. Consul, in Japanese culture, tanuki cats should occupy a very important place, am I right? It is said that in ancient times, there was a transformation technique originating from tanuki cats and foxes, which could instantly reorganize their own cellular structure to become what they wanted to be."
"Hahaha, that's just a legend. Are you going to tell us that tanuki killed these people?" The Japanese consul was laughing, but his face was cold and expressionless.
"Of course not, it's made by a person. Please look at the two pieces of cloth in my hand." Zhang Zhi took out two identical pieces of fabric and two identical trademarks. Then he began to demonstrate the experiment to Jiaming.
Jiaming felt his eyes were very dry and itchy, wondering if it was because he hadn't slept all night. Jian Rou had already left the window and was sitting in the corner, listlessly doodling in her notebook.
“These fabrics need to be soaked for about thirty minutes. In that time, let’s do a small experiment. Okay, the rain has lessened a lot, so the experiment should be successful.” Zhang Zhi magically produced a large bunch of plants with small purple flowers.
The plant was placed in the center of the yard, and everyone looked at each other, wondering what Zhang Zhi was up to now. The rain still showed no signs of stopping, although it had lessened considerably, it was still very heavy.
A strange thing happened. Within minutes, several cats appeared from different directions, as if summoned. Anyone who owns a cat knows that cats are extremely averse to water and would rather die than go outside in the rain. But now, in the dense rain, several cats gathered around the clump of plants, licking, rubbing against, and rolling around, their eyes glazed over, looking completely blissful. The smaller cats were already drooling.
Xiaoju felt nauseous upon seeing this.
"This plant is called catnip, commonly known as 'cat's opium,' and it's an irresistible temptation for cats," Zhang Zhi explained.
"Mr. Zhang, what are you trying to say?" Howard looked confused.
"You'll understand in a moment. Alright, our experiment over there should be finished. Please return to your seats, and let's take a look at what's happening here."
Two pieces of cloth, after being soaked, were displayed to the public; one was spotless white, while the other was stained.
“Mr. Howard, if a company sells fabrics of this quality, I wonder how this will affect the company’s reputation?” Zhang Zhi handed the obviously stained piece of fabric to Howard.
"This kind of fabric will severely damage the company's reputation. Inspector Zhang, are you saying that this is the sample we use for purchasing goods?"
"good."
“No way, how could our fabric have quality problems? This is the most despicable slander.” Li Tongtian spoke up before Howard could even open his mouth.
"That's alright. If you have any objections, you can randomly select fabric from the warehouse for testing. This testing method is an internationally recognized textile inspection standard."
"How could this happen? How could this happen?" Li Tongtian was still talking to himself.
"Therefore, we can boldly infer that this batch of substandard fabrics is directly related to Wu Dazhong's death. As the person in charge of quality inspection, Wu Dazhong must have discovered some clues. We have already checked that several boxes of goods placed on the side of the ship had gotten wet during transportation, and the labels on the fabrics became blurred like this. Why would they become blurred when they get wet? Because this batch of fabrics is counterfeit. The labels used on genuine products are made with special pigments and will not fade at all."
Zhang Zhi's words left Howard and Luo Xiuqing speechless. The Japanese consul, listening to the translator, nodded repeatedly.
In an instant, Howard turned to Li Tongtian: "Li, what's going on?"
"Chairman, I swear to God, I didn't know this guy had any problems. I was only trying to do what's best for the company. But this really has nothing to do with me." Li Tongtian stretched out both hands, but didn't know what to do. He looked around, sighed, and slumped heavily onto the sofa.
“Mr. Li, don’t get agitated. Try to recall the details of the transaction.” Zhang Zhi looked at Li Tongtian, who was hanging his head and remaining silent.
Twenty-six
Zhang Zhi's words seemed even more impactful than the rolling thunder from before. They had different effects on each person.
Howard was initially very surprised, then angry, and also felt a pang of guilt. He had almost ruined the company's reputation, which it had painstakingly built up over many years, by trying to gain a short-term advantage.
The police chief looked much more energetic than before.
Luo Xiuqing's feelings were complicated. Zhang Zhi's words brought back some of his hazy memories, but was that all there was to it? He held his wife's hand tightly, which was sweaty. He didn't know if it was because he was too nervous or because Xiaoju was excited.
Jian Rou was still drawing on the paper, while Jia Ming had already sat down beside her, looking at the notebook in her hand. Occasionally, he would take the pen from Jian Rou and write something on the paper. Clearly, the two were having a quiet conversation.
The only person who remained exactly the same as before was the Japanese consul, who still sat upright. The man next to him, Mi Chongzi, wiped the sweat from his brow during a break in conversation; perhaps today's translation was too difficult.
“Alright, let’s give Mr. Li some time to recall. You might be wondering what catnip has to do with these cases. Do you remember these photos?” Zhang Zhi’s briefcase, which resembled a magician’s robe, was passed around among the group as he showed them a stack of photos.
"This is the warehouse that caught fire..." Howard was the first to get the photos. "Could this be part of a conspiracy too?"
"At the scene of the fire, we found a charred cat, clearly burned instantly by the powerful flames that erupted from the warehouse. Our investigation revealed that the fire was deliberately designed. As everyone knows, the warehouses of the Licheng Trading Company were of very high quality and well-sealed, which provided the arsonist with excellent conditions. The arsonist lit some flammable materials in the warehouse, such as charcoal, which was a good choice. Then the doors were closed. Due to the good seal, the burning charcoal quickly depleted the oxygen in the room. At this point, the fire appeared to be extinguished, the room was filled with thick smoke, and the carbon monoxide concentration reached a very high level. At this moment, if a large amount of air suddenly rushed in, a deflagration would occur, and the destructive power of the flames would exceed that of an ordinary fire."