Chapter 21 The Entire Pingjiang District Public Security Subbureau Is Mobilized…

Chapter 21 The entire Pingjiang District Public Security Bureau was mobilized...

Guan Xia waited for a moment before handing the small amount of lettuce and spinach she had picked out to the vendor.

The man swiftly tossed them onto the scale to weigh them, then grabbed a plastic bag and casually remarked, "Miss, you're buying so little. What's this even enough for? Even a rabbit would only get half-full on this."

As he spoke, he didn’t delay in putting the weighed vegetables into the plastic bag. "One twenty, just give me one yuan."

The vegetables were so cheap that Guan Xia felt almost embarrassed. She quickly scanned to pay.

The next older woman waiting to have her vegetables weighed smiled and said, "You’re such a busybody. Why do you care how much others eat? Young girls these days all want to watch their weight. They eat like birds and are into things like 'intermittent fasting.' My granddaughter is the same—only fifteen or sixteen, but after going out for hotpot with her friends, she’ll do a whole day of intermittent fasting. Not only does she go all day without eating, but the next evening she’ll boil a bunch of leafy greens, add just a pinch of salt, and force it down. It puts me off my food just watching her."

The man didn’t hand the plastic bag directly to Guan Xia. Instead, he grabbed two more handfuls of vegetables and tossed them in before passing it to her. "You’re eating way too little. Here, I’ll give you some extra. It’s on the house—no need to pay. Money's not an issue."

This was the first time Guan Xia had encountered such a friendly vegetable seller. She felt a bit awkward accepting it, but the man insisted, shoving it into her hands before turning to weigh the older woman’s vegetables, all while chattering away.

"Not that I'm meddling, it’s just that when I see it, I can’t help but say something," the man said cheerfully. "Your health comes first. If nothing else, at least when you’re full, you have the energy to run if something goes down. Last night, I saw this news story—I can’t remember which city it was—but some coward decided to take revenge on society. He drove his car onto the sidewalk and mowed down several people, killing and injuring them. I’m not trying to curse anyone, but you never know when you might run into a maniac. If you’re starving, you won’t even have the strength to run away."

The man then looked at Guan Xia and said, "Miss, I’m really not trying to meddle. I just think it’s good for young girls like you to stay healthy. Who cares what others think? A little extra weight can be a blessing, and you’re not even plump. You should eat more when you can."

After finishing, he efficiently packed up the older woman’s vegetables and handed them over. "Eleven-forty, just give me eleven."

The older woman paid with a smile and asked before leaving, "Will you be here tomorrow morning? My son and daughter-in-law have been working overtime a lot lately. The dumplings and wontons I made for them are all gone. I’m planning to make more tomorrow, so you have to come."

The man’s expression turned somewhat troubled. "Well... I’ve been coming to your neighborhood a lot lately, and people from other communities in the chat group aren’t too happy. They’re all insisting I go somewhere else tomorrow."

Before the older woman could respond, others began voicing their displeasure, all talking at once.

"Why do you care what they think? It’s their fault for living so far away."

"Exactly! Not only are they far, they’re also stingy. Every time you go over there to sell, you can’t even sell out. It’s not like here, where if you don’t sell out, you can drop off whatever's left at noon when you take lunch to your wife."

"If you don’t sell here tomorrow, aren’t you afraid you won’t have time to bring your wife lunch? Be careful, or she’ll make you sleep on the sofa."

"If you don’t come tomorrow, I’ll go to the market and tattle to your wife. I’ll say you were threatened by the women from other communities in the group chat."

Seeing the older women getting more worked up, the man quickly gave in. "Alright, alright, I’ll come tomorrow. I’ll still come tomorrow, okay? Please don’t go spreading nonsense to my wife. Our child has been sick lately, and she’s already stressed."

Only then did the group settle down. One older woman said, "No wonder you only brought a small load of vegetables today. So your child is sick. Does that mean you won’t be here this afternoon?"

The man was so busy he wished he had four arms. While working, he kept talking. "Yeah, I’ll leave as soon as I sell these. I need to bring my wife lunch. Life's all about that daily hot meal, isn't it? I can’t let her go hungry."

"Then I’ll send a message in the group," said the older woman who had just paid, opening her phone. "I’ll tell them to come early so you can finish up and leave sooner."

Guan Xia, holding her bag, had originally planned to buy more since she was planning a housewarming tomorrow evening, and the vegetables would keep for a day. But hearing that the man would be back tomorrow morning, she edged her way out of the crowd and went to the supermarket to buy other ingredients for malatang.

When she returned carrying a bunch of groceries, the tricycle at the neighborhood entrance was already gone. It seemed he had sold out and left.

Back home, she quickly cooked a pot of malatang and brought it to the dining table. She then called Pang Le to discuss the housewarming plans.

Pang Le seemed to be eating too, as she mumbled around her food, "Housewarming tomorrow night? Why in the evening? We won’t be able to hang out for long before everyone has to leave."

Guan Xia, on speakerphone, poured herself a glass of warm water and said loudly, "You’re the boss—you can leave whenever you want. But Lawyer Shi and Lawyer Dong have to work."

Pang Le snorted. "You just don’t get it. They’re both lawyers. When they’re busy, they’re always running around outside. If something comes up, they can always find an excuse to slip out."

Guan Xia sat back down in her chair. "So you’re saying we could change it to tomorrow noon? That’s even better. Besides eating, we can chat and give you and Lawyer Shi more time to connect."

"Thanks a lot," Pang Le said insincerely, then added sarcastically, "I’m really glad you make your living as a creative. If you had an office job, you’d be one of those honest workers who never slacks off—you’d probably work yourself to death."

Guan Xia pursed her lips in disagreement, thinking to herself that before she transmigrated, she was a master at slacking off. Even though she could finish her work in half a day, she would always stretch it out, pretending to be busy. If she finished too quickly, she’d open a spreadsheet and play Gomoku with her slacking buddies—and she was never caught. At the end of the year, she even managed to snag an outstanding employee award.

Hearing Guan Xia not rebut, Pang Le chuckled and quickly changed the subject. "Speaking of which, has Xu Nian contacted you these past couple of days?"

Guan Xia, slurping up wide noodles, answered indistinctly, "No, why? Did you hear something?"

Pang Le suddenly lowered her voice, speaking very quietly. "I did hear a little rumor. The case Xu Nian and his team are handling is another serial killer case."

Guan Xia nearly choked. She thumped her chest and swallowed before saying, "Another serial murder? And it involves dismemberment?"

Guan Xia thought of the fisherman she had seen that day and couldn’t help adding, "You really can’t judge a book by its cover. I would never have guessed it when I saw him that day."

She paused and asked Pang Le, "Speaking of which, didn’t you practice martial arts since you were a child? In novels and TV shows, martial artists are always extra sensitive to people who have blood on their hands. Didn’t you sense anything?"

Pang Le sneered. "That guy was covered up more than someone wearing a mask at night. I couldn’t even see his eyes—how could I sense anything?"

Guan Xia grew interested. "So if you could see his eyes, you really could sense something?"

Pang Le hesitated before answering, "Not exactly. It’s just... after competing so much, I’ve become more sensitive to malice and aggression. Of course, if there’s no malice or aggression, I definitely wouldn’t sense anything."

Guan Xia was about to ask why she hadn’t sensed anything when they encountered the murderer at the supermarket that night, but after hearing Pang Le’s last sentence, she held her tongue.

Fishing a meatball from the bottom of her bowl and popping it into her mouth, Guan Xia returned to the earlier topic. "Aside from it being another serial murder case, what else have you heard about Xu Nian’s case? Was the license plate number I gave them useful?"

"No idea," Pang Le guessed. "But it should be useful. Anyway, my ex-boyfriend said the entire Pingjiang District Public Security Bureau has been mobilized. If they didn’t have a lead, they wouldn’t send out so many people, right?"

Pang Le also made some guesses based on budget considerations. Whether her reasoning was sound or not, Guan Xia didn’t know, but after thinking it over, it did seem to make sense.

They chatted while finishing lunch, and Pang Le said she would ask Lawyer Shi before hanging up.

Before Guan Xia could finish washing the pot, Pang Le called back.

As soon as she answered, Pang Le said, "Shi Guangbo and Dong Yuncheng both agreed. They’ll swing by the law firm tomorrow morning and sneak out around 11 to meet at your place. Dong Yuncheng also asked me to ask you if you’re planning to cook yourself. If so, he’ll come early to help. He can cook—can’t guarantee the taste, but he promises it won’t kill anyone."

Guan Xia laughed. "I prefer to eat without lifting a finger. I’m not cooking. I’ll draft a menu later for you all to look at. If no one has allergies, I’ll book a housekeeping service to come tomorrow. You all just need to show up and eat."

"Sounds good," Pang Le also laughed. "It’s just a shame we won’t get to taste Dong Yuncheng’s cooking. From what Lawyer Shi says, he’s actually really good."

"We can try it another time," Guan Xia replied casually. After chatting with Pang Le for a bit longer, she hung up and went to work on the menu.

Guan Xia thought it would be quick, but after picking and choosing and making changes based on Pang Le’s feedback, it took her the entire afternoon to finalize it.

After receiving an "OK" from Pang Le, Guan Xia reheated the leftover malatang from lunch for dinner, then took the kitchen waste downstairs.

To her surprise, after tossing the trash, she turned around and saw a little girl sitting alone on the lawn, digging in the mud.

Guan Xia took a closer look and quickly recognized her—she was the little girl who had argued with the bald man at the entrance of Building 7 that morning.

It was already dark, and a seven- or eight-year-old girl was playing alone in the neighborhood. Guan Xia felt a little concerned, but seeing the elderly people coming and going for walks, she decided it was probably fine. After watching for a moment, she went back upstairs.

Although she thought their neighborhood was relatively safe, considering there was a park across the street with decent foot traffic—and people from other neighborhoods might cut through theirs—Guan Xia moved her evening drama-watching spot to the study.

She watched her show, occasionally getting up to glance downstairs. Only when the little girl stopped playing and walked toward Building 7 with her plastic shovel did Guan Xia truly relax and move her drama-watching back to the living room.