Chapter 84 (2/2)

“No, thank you, Uncle Gao!” Jiang Zhengkai laughingly responded to Uncle Gao’s offer.  “Actually, it did taste a bit different tonight.”

“Of course it did!  That’s because I made some improvements to the recipe,” Uncle Gao said proudly, “The people here aren’t used to that much spice and salt in their foods, so I had Cai dial back the amount of chili peppers and salt he puts into the broth.  I also had him add some honey.  What do you think?  It’s a lot better, right?”

“Oh, so that’s why!” exclaimed A-Jiao as she pretended to act all dissatisfied, “I was just saying how the noodles tonight tasted all weird.  I personally thought they were pretty gross.”  Upon hearing A-Jiao’s opinion, Uncle Gao’s face became very awkward-looking.  However, A-Jiao immediately shoved her empty bowl in front of Uncle Gao and said, “Here!  If you give me a bowl of free noodles, I’ll promise not to tell your secret to the other customers!”

“Haha!  You silly girl!”  Seeing A-Jiao’s actions and mannerisms, Uncle Gao realized that she was toying with him.  His smile returned as he said, “Alright!  I’ll get you another bowl, and it’s on the house!  Just don’t complain when I don’t bring a gift to you two’s wedding!”  Afterwards, Uncle Gao got up, took the bowl, and started to head towards the kitchen.

A-Jiao immediately grabbed Uncle Gao’s arm and pleaded, “I’m sorry, Uncle!  I don’t need that second bowl after all!  I’m full, really!”

“Really?  You’re really full?” Uncle Gao asked in surprise.

“Yes, I’m full!  In fact, I can’t be anything but full right now!”  A-Jiao patted her tummy and sat back down.  “Ai!  The cost of that free bowl of noodles was way too high!  I’d say I was full even if I were starving!”

“You… haha!”  Hearing A-Jiao’s quip, Uncle Gao knew she was joking with him again.  Anyway, he knew A-Jiao’s appet.i.te was only so big, and his comment about the wedding gift was a joke as well.  He placed the empty bowl back on the table before he sat down next to the two and asked, “Jiang, have you been able to find that person you were looking for?”

“No,” he shook his head, “We’re still looking, but don’t worry!  We will find her eventually.”

“You know, I kept on thinking about that case after you left.”  Uncle Gao glanced left and right and saw that the other customers were all busy eating and paid no attention to their conversation.  He lowered his voice and said to Jiang Zhengkai, “According to my recollection, A-Xiu had a child.  I remember she sent money home every month.”

“A-Xiu has a child?” Jiang Zhengkai asked in astonishment at what Uncle Gao had just told him, “Then do you know where her home…”

“I seem to remember it was somewhere in Guangxi,” Uncle Gao continued, “As for specifically where, that I don’t remember.  Ai, I must be getting old!”  Uncle Gao shook his head before continuing, “But you can try asking Zheng Yueshan.  He has all of the reports of A-Xiu’s interrogation.”

“What about Zhang Nan?”  Jiang Zhengkai was clearly asking whether Zhang Nan knew about the interrogation reports.

“Zhang Nan doesn’t know,” Uncle Gao waved his hand, “I was alone when I interrogated A-Xiu.  Zheng was supposed to join me in the interrogation, but an emergent case popped up that night, so he wasn’t able to come to the station.”

“Did A-Xiu give up anything important that night?” Jiang Zhengkai continued asking.

“No.  She gave up absolutely nothing at all,” Uncle Gao chuckled, “Because Zheng wasn’t there, I wasn’t able to ask questions related to the case.  We mostly just talked about our respective families.  If I remember correctly, she experienced some serious financial hards.h.i.+ps after her husband died.  She became a prost.i.tute as a way to support her child.  The impression that woman gave off was that she was clever and not all that bad of a person, but she just didn’t want to stay on the straight and narrow.  Well, with that level of education, perhaps making money from anything other than stealing or robbing was straight and narrow enough,” said Uncle Gao as he couldn’t help but shake his head.

“Uncle Gao, thank you so much!” exclaimed Jiang Zhengkai as he extended his hand towards the old man.  He was truly grateful for the information Uncle Gao provided him tonight.  Why didn’t he consider the possibility that A-Xiu herself came from Guangxi earlier in the afternoon?  He should have realized that A-Xiu was from Guangxi as well!