Aula 407

Capítulo 29

After a while, Ziyuan asked the old man again, "Old man, what happened in this building before?"

"So many!" the old man gestured exaggeratedly. "Getting married, having children..."

“It’s not these,” Shion interrupted him. “Is there anyone… who has gone mad… or… who is dead?”

"What?" The old man stared at Ziyuan, as if he didn't understand what she was saying.

Ziyuan realized she had spoken out of turn and stopped talking. The old man smiled, gently placed his hand on Ziyuan's shoulder, and slowly nudged her, saying, "Come on, I'll take you to see the neighborhood."

Ziyuan had no choice but to leave, but she kept turning back every two steps to look at the receding building. Gu Xing was the last to leave, constantly turning back to look. The old man turned back to Gu Xing and urged him to leave, saying that the building was in danger of collapsing at any time and there was nothing to see inside.

Gu Xing then took the opportunity to ask the old man, "Uncle, do you know Xu Chen?"

The old man glanced at him and said, "Who is it? I don't know him."

“She used to live here when she was little,” Ziyuan asked, turning around.

The old man remained silent for a while, then looked at Ziyuan and Gu Xing before saying, "You're the people who came here. I didn't think you were here to look at the land."

Gu Xing immediately pleaded, "Uncle, we're sorry, we didn't mean to lie to you, but this is very important to us, please tell us."

"I really don't recognize her. There are several people with the surname Xu in the factory. Are you asking if that one is male or female?"

"It's a woman. She lived here when she was a child."

"That happened more than ten years ago, how could I remember?" the old man replied coldly, and then kept walking. Ziyuan and the others followed behind him. They realized that the old man did not take them anywhere else, but returned to the factory by himself. After entering the duty room, he started reading the newspaper, leaving Ziyuan and the others outside the duty room.

Ziyuan was still not giving up and asked him again, "Uncle, do you know someone named Qin Li Zhenren?"

"I don't know him." The old man answered without thinking. After he finished speaking, he put the newspaper down and said to Ziyuan and the others, "Let's go back. I'm old and don't remember much. I'm going to the market to buy vegetables now."

Seeing the old man say this, Da Kai realized there was no point in staying, so he said impatiently, "Let's go, let's go. What are we still doing here? He said he doesn't know anyone. Let's go."

"Yes, let's go, I won't see you off," the old man replied, and then left the factory.

Ziyuan and the others watched the old man walk away at the factory gate and had no choice but to leave helplessly. Li Xu complained loudly, "It's all your fault, you made things awkward."

"What does this have to do with me?" Da Kai stared at him wide-eyed. "That old geezer doesn't even remember."

"It doesn't seem like it," Zhang Da said.

“Yes,” Ziyuan added, “Just now, Gu Xing asked him about Xu Chen, and he said he didn’t know him. Gu Xing told him that Xu Chen had lived here when he was a child, but he immediately replied, ‘That was more than ten years ago, how could I remember?’ Think about it, if he didn’t know Xu Chen, how would he know that it was more than ten years ago?”

“Perhaps he guessed from our ages that the person we were looking for was about the same age as us, so he knew,” Da Kai interjected.

Ziyuan shook her head, indicating her disagreement. The group then stood there, unsure what to do. After a while, Li Xu said, "Shouldn't we go back to school now?"

Ziyuan glanced at him and said to Gu Xing, "How about this, you guys go back to school first, I'll go to the nearby mental hospital to check if there's anyone named Qin Lizhen. If I find anything, I'll let you know."

"No," Gu Xing looked at her and said, "I want to go with them too."

Gu Xing said this, and Yang Mian and the others insisted on going together. Zi Yuan didn't object to anything and said, "Okay, let's ask around first. Where is the mental hospital here? We'll ask around room by room. We're sure to find that person named Qin Lizhen."

Before long, the group returned to the hotel, ate something, and at the same time, Zhang Bei called his father and asked him to use his influence in the government to help Zhang Bei find all the addresses of mental hospitals in the area.

In the afternoon, Ziyuan and the others split up to go to the mental hospital to look for Qin Lizhen.

There are four mental health sanatoriums in the area. They split into two teams: Gu Xing and Yang Mian in one team, and Zi Yuan and Zhang Bei in the other, to investigate separately.

Ziyuan and Zhang Bei first arrived at a mental hospital in the suburbs. It was not very big. From outside the fence, they could see the lawn inside the courtyard. More than a dozen people with blank faces and expressionless expressions were walking back and forth. It seemed that they were all mental patients.

Besides them, there were also some staff members in white uniforms guarding the area. As soon as Ziyuan entered the gate, a guard came up and asked them questions. They explained their purpose, and the guard called a nurse who took them to a director's office. A doctor in his thirties wearing a white coat received them. Ziyuan explained his purpose to him again, and the doctor asked them to sit for a moment before leaving the office.

Ziyuan looked around and found the place to be quite simple. She then looked out the window and noticed that the weeds on the lawn outside had not been trimmed.

Zhang Bei leaned closer to Zi Yuan and whispered, "This mental hospital seems really bad. Maybe they don't have the money?"

Ziyuan casually replied, "That's their business, don't meddle in it."

Ten minutes later, the doctor returned with a list in his hands. After sitting down, he said to Ziyuan and the others, "All the mental patients who have been admitted here over the past ten years are here, and none of them are named Qin Lizhen."

Ziyuan didn't disbelieve him, but she was afraid he might misunderstand, so she took the lists and started looking them up herself. Zhang Bei, however, started chatting with the doctor. It turned out that the doctor was the director of the mental hospital.

The director kept complaining to Zhang Bei about the financial difficulties of the mental hospital and the challenges of being a director. As he talked, he told Zhang Bei about another mental hospital, saying, "That hospital is much better than ours. It's state-run, with all the necessary facilities, and it's very large. I heard there are more than 400 patients being treated there."

Zhang Bei asked the director for the address of the mental hospital, which happened to be the next mental hospital they were going to.

At this point, Ziyuan looked at the list several times and realized that Qin Lizhen's name was indeed not on it, so she had no choice but to get up and say goodbye.

They then arrived at the large, well-equipped mental hospital that the director had told them about earlier. Ziyuan and Zhang Bei looked around the hospital and found it to be very luxurious. The security guard led them to the treatment area and said, "You might not be able to find the director. You should ask one of the doctors here. I can't help you. The division of labor here is very strict. They said that we staff members who are not doctors or nurses are not allowed to have contact with patients, for fear that we might agitate them. So, I never go in either."

Ziyuan understood upon hearing this and walked into the treatment area with Zhang Bei.

The treatment area was full of patients, walking around listlessly. After walking for a while, the two realized that the hospital was indeed very large. After walking for a while, they saw a woman in her forties wearing a white coat, who looked like a doctor, walking over. She also had a nameplate hanging on her coat that read: Chen Ai.

Ziyuan and Zhang Bei went over and told her they were looking for someone named Qin Lizhen. Chen Ai thought for a moment and then said, "We don't seem to have anyone like that here."

Seeing that she answered them without even looking at the list, Ziyuan felt it was a bit frivolous, so she asked her to go to the hospital director or to take out the hospital's list to check.

Chen Aixiao said, "We are very well-equipped here, and I know the patients here very well, but there is no one named Qin Lizhen here."

After finishing her sentence, Chen Ai seemed to be in a difficult position and said, "We are a national hospital, and we have to follow all the procedures for everything. Even if you want to investigate, it will be very difficult for you. Actually..."

Chen Ai didn't continue, and it seemed like she wanted money. Zhang Bei immediately understood her thoughts and said to her, "Could you please help us find out more? This is very important to us."

Chen Ai looked around and then led them to the grassy area outside. There were only some patients there, and no one else. Only then did Chen Ai say to Zi Yuan and Zhang Bei, "There are many patients here, and we can't find the cause right away. I really want to help you, but..."

Chen Ai feigned difficulty again, and Zhang Bei understood. She took out a few hundred yuan from her wallet and stuffed it into Chen Ai's hand. Chen Ai immediately smiled and said, "I'll check, but I might not be able to find out anything. Don't count on me too much."

Zhang Bei said, "In short, we would be very grateful if you could help us investigate this carefully."

Chen Ai immediately said, "Okay, then you wait a moment." After saying that, she turned around and left.

Ziyuan stopped her and said she wanted to go with her to investigate, but Chen Ai said, "Everything here is very strictly controlled. If you go, the hospital won't let you see the patient's information. You can wait here for a while."

After hearing this, Ziyuan had no choice but to wait where she was. More than twenty minutes later, Chen Ai returned and said to Ziyuan, "More than ten years ago, there was a person named Qin Lizhen who was hospitalized, but..."

At this point, Chen Ai looked at Zhang Bei and didn't continue. Zhang Bei understood and took out another two hundred yuan for her. She immediately took it and said, "That woman named Qin Lizhen killed her husband more than ten years ago, but at the time they thought she was mentally ill, so they sent her here. She died of brain cancer a few years ago."

Ziyuan immediately asked, "Did you know she had family?"

"This... I don't know, there seems to be no record of anyone visiting her in the past ten years or so."

Zhang Bei thought she wanted more money, so she took out another two hundred yuan and said, "This is the last time, hurry up and say it."

Chen Ai refused his money, saying, "I really didn't know, I'm sorry."

Just then, a nurse came walking towards them from a distance. Chen Ai hurriedly said, "She's here to see me. She might have something to do. I have to go now. I'm sorry, goodbye."

Ziyuan wanted to ask her more questions, but she walked over to the nurse's side. She saw the nurse grab her arm tightly and say something agitated. She seemed very angry and was speaking loudly to Chen Ai. Then she dragged Chen Ai away forcefully.

"The nurses here are really amazing," Zhang Bei said to Zi Yuan with a smile. But seeing that Zi Yuan's expression wasn't too good because the clue to Qin Li had really gone cold, Zhang Bei immediately stopped talking.

They then left the hospital. Although they did not meet the hospital director, they felt that Chen Ai's honest way of asking for money yielded a lot of genuine information.

Chapter Seventeen: Money Temptation

Qin Lizhen was pulled back to the ward by Sun Xiaojing. Sun Xiaojing grabbed Qin Lizhen hard and shouted, "You motherfucker, are you looking for death? You just woke up and you're running around like that. Do you want me to get a scolding from the head nurse?"

"Also, who were that man and woman just now? Were they visiting you? Are they your relatives? You can't have contact with them without the nurse's permission," Sun Xiaojing grabbed Qin Lizhen's hair and questioned her.

Qin Lizhen stared blankly at Sun Xiaojing without saying a word, and occasionally giggled foolishly. Sun Xiaojing got angry and slapped her, but Qin Lizhen just touched her face and didn't react.

Sun Xiaojing tried to pull at her doctor's white coat again, cursing, "You slut, where did you steal Dr. Chen's white coat from? Take it off right now!"

Qin Lizhen didn't say anything, nor did she move an inch, letting Sun Xiaojing try to take off her white robe. Seeing that she didn't react or cooperate, and the white robe was difficult to remove, Sun Xiaojing pushed Qin Lizhen's head hard with her palm and cursed, "Damn it, can you move a little? Believe me or I'll hit you."

Just then, a woman in her thirties walked in, dressed in plain clothes. Sun Xiaojing had intended to hit Qin Lizhen again, but seeing the woman enter, she had to give up. Her reputation was already bad; she often beat patients. Fortunately, those naive patients didn't know how to complain. However, she had seen many nurses and doctors beating people, so upon seeing someone approach, Sun Xiaojing immediately abandoned her plan to continue hitting Qin Lizhen.

"Dr. Chen Ai." Sun Xiaojing greeted Chen Ai with a smile, while rudely taking off Qin Lizhen's white coat. Chen Ai smiled back at Sun Xiaojing, then said to Qin Lizhen, "Qin Lizhen, so you were the one who took my white coat."

Qin Lizhen nodded with a silly smile. At this moment, Sun Xiaojing had already taken off her white coat and handed it to Chen Ai, and then said, "Dr. Chen, I just saw her talking to a man and a woman, they might be her relatives."

"No way, no one has visited her in over ten years. Maybe she's a family member of another patient..." Chen Ai said, laughing as she held up the white coat in her hand. "I thought she was a doctor, I was fooled by her."

Sun Xiaojing smiled too. Suddenly, they both realized that Qin Lizhen was gone. The ward door hadn't been closed since Sun Xiaojing pulled Qin Lizhen in, and the two of them hadn't been paying attention, so Qin Lizhen had escaped.

"Damn it." Sun Xiaojing cursed, but seeing Chen Ai was also there, she stopped cursing and said to Chen Ai, "I'm going to find her. If she runs away like last month, it will be troublesome."

Chen Ai didn't say anything, and they went their separate ways to search together.

Qin Lizhen didn't run out of the hospital. Instead, she squatted on the large lawn in the courtyard, looking for something. Sun Xiaojing searched for more than ten minutes before finally finding her.

Sun Xiaojing approached her and, finding no one else nearby besides the patients, immediately kicked Qin Lizhen in the buttocks. She then grabbed Qin Lizhen's hair and cursed, "Damn it, I'll teach you a lesson when we get back to the ward."

After Sun Xiaojing finished speaking, she grabbed Qin Lizhen's hair and pulled her up, but Qin Lizhen refused to move, saying she needed to find something. Sun Xiaojing got angry and was about to give her a beating on the spot when she suddenly saw the head nurse walking towards her. Sun Xiaojing immediately let go of Qin Lizhen's hair.

"You're looking for a patient again." Head nurse Zhong Fang walked up to Sun Xiaojing with a displeased expression, staring intently at her. At this moment, Qin Lizhen took the opportunity to walk away, but Zhong Fang and Sun Xiaojing immediately caught up with her and grabbed her.

Qin Lizhen kept pointing to the bushes and shouting, "The money... is gone! I need to go find it!"

Zhong Fang asked in surprise, "Money? Qin Lizhen, how do you have money?"

"Someone just gave it to me."

Zhong Fang looked at Sun Xiaojing and asked, "Did anyone come looking for her just now?"

In the hospital, visitors needed permission from the doctor and head nurse to come and see a patient. Because Sun Xiaojing was afraid of being blamed by Zhong Fang, she lied and said, "No..."

Seeing that Sun Xiaojing was stuttering and her eyes were shifty, Zhong Fang knew at a glance that she was lying, but she didn't make a scene. Instead, she put on a stern face and said, "Take her back to the ward."

Sun Xiaojing couldn't wait to leave, and as soon as Zhong Fang finished speaking, she immediately pulled Qin Lizhen back to the ward.

Seeing that they had all left, Zhong Fang quietly went to the bushes that Qin Lizhen had pointed out earlier to search, but after searching for a long time, she found nothing.

"Could that crazy woman be talking nonsense?" Zhong Fang wondered to herself. She searched on and on, unwilling to give up. A few minutes later, sure enough, she saw several pieces of paper with pictures on the grass to her left. Excitedly, Zhong Fang crawled over like a dog and discovered that they were indeed RMB banknotes.

Upon picking it up, Zhong Fang saw that there were three bills, each worth one hundred yuan. She immediately wanted to put them in her pocket, but then noticed something was wrong with the bills. Upon closer inspection, she realized that all three bills were only half-finished and all were torn on the same side. Even if she glued them together, they could not be made into a complete one hundred yuan bill.

Zhong Fang searched on the ground again, but after a long time, she still couldn't find the other half of the three banknotes. Zhong Fang had no choice but to give up and went to Qin Lizhen's ward, only to find Qin Lizhen alone; Sun Xiaojing had already left.

Qin Lizhen's hospital room was a single room, usually locked. Zhong Fang opened the door and said to Qin Lizhen, "Qin Lizhen, where's the money you mentioned? Where did you put it?"

Qin Lizhen had her head down, but when she heard Zhong Fang's words, she looked up and saw a large bruise on her face, apparently from Sun Xiaojing. Zhong Fang didn't react at all, because it wasn't something she cared about; such things were unimportant.

Qin Lizhen then said blankly, "It's gone...it's lost...I put it away."

"Where...where did you send it?"

Qin Lizhen didn't answer, lowered her head again, ignored Zhong Fang, and after a while, she went back to sleep.

Zhong Fang had worked here for ten years and had plenty of patience, unlike Sun Xiaojing who had a short temper. She thought to herself: I'll come at night. Anyway, I have to be on duty at night, so I have plenty of time.

At midnight, Zhong Fang returned to the hospital and immediately went to Qin Lizhen's ward. She saw Qin Lizhen sleeping and was about to leave when Sun Xiaojing walked over. As soon as she saw Zhong Fang, she turned around and left.

Zhong Fang was a little unhappy: Did she also know that Qin Lizhen had money?

There were more than a dozen nurses on duty at the hospital at night. Zhong Fang stood there thinking: If she couldn't trick Qin Li into handing over the money, she couldn't just rob her. Besides, Qin Li was mentally ill and had tremendous strength when she had an attack. It seemed she needed to find a good opportunity to slowly extract the money from her.