There were no screams, no nightmares, and no solemn atmosphere in the morning. When Lu Ning left the RV and walked into the hotel early in the morning, the scene she saw was no different from the first day.
Carl was carving a piece of barbecue while Robert was packing some food away. In addition, many early risers also came downstairs to prepare what they would take to the lake house today. Although everyone looks like they are going on an outing, there is no lack of caution. Food, water, tools, etc. must all be carried by oneself.
"Speaking of which...if we're going to stay all night, how about lighting?" Sugiyama Risu asked a question that no one had thought much about.
Electricity had already appeared at this time, but it was not particularly popular yet. In Baihu Town, hotels and some newly built houses were connected with wires, but most houses did not have electricity.
"I really didn't pay attention to the power situation there. Maybe there is no power?" Sally scratched her head.
"I asked the boss, no." Yiluo walked in just at this time, "The locals don't know who the owner of the villa is, but several women have received the job of cleaning and replenishing supplies on time. So it’s not deserted. There’s no electricity there, so if you want to go, it’s best to go to the grocery store to prepare candles or flashlights. Also, the boss doesn’t know what the relationship between the lake house and the witch is.”
"Is the door locked there?" Carl asked.
"There is no door lock." Iroh crossed his arms and said slightly uneasily, "This is indeed very suspicious."
"Then you can check how wages are paid." Lu Ning quickly packed herself a plate of breakfast, "I'll go and ask this morning."
"Aren't you going to the cabin?"
"It's a quick four-kilometer drive. I have a car."
After Lu Ning said this, she immediately received several envious looks.
"Besides, I have some things to do in town and I won't be there until this afternoon. I won't wait until dark, don't worry."
"Do you need someone to stay with you?" Karl asked, "It's dangerous to move alone."
"To borrow a little bit from Miss Detective... I also have the means to protect myself, so there is no need to worry about my safety."
She nodded to Karl and patted her hands on her waist. Although Karl was not particularly relieved, he still respected Lu Ning's intention.
Soon the first group of people who decided to set off were decided. Sally and Luo Nan's group took the lead in two off-road vehicles, carrying Karl, Robert, Zhu You and Qiu Yiyun to the lakeside hut. Then the four Qu Siyuan brothers walked over soon after and drew a topographic map of the road.
Others still have some matters, but Lu Ning will not mention them. Yu Guiting also wants to go to the mayor's house to inquire about the lakeside cabin and the elders in their family. Seitaro Asayama wanted to find the ranger to confirm what happened before. Only Xia Xinhe and his wife, no one cared about when they would act or what they would do.
According to the address asked from the hotel owner, Lu Ning found a house in the town who was responsible for cleaning the cabin.
The hostess here is a woman about forty years old. She usually handles some agricultural products at home, so Lu Ning happened to be at home when she approached her.
After listening to the inquiry about the lakeside cabin, the hostess told the story without any defense.
"That was... about three years ago, when our harvest was not particularly good, and we were worrying about how to survive the winter, one morning I found a letter in the mailbox at the door."
"Working?"
"Yes, the letter mentioned a job. We need to replenish supplies to the lake house on the 1st and 15th of every month. The cleaning is from one to four every Tuesday afternoon. This time is fixed. , no delay is allowed. And as long as I complete this work, I can get a good income every month..." The hostess's voice gradually became smaller, "Shouldn't I accept it?"
"No, it has nothing to do with this. You are not alone in replenishing supplies, right?"
"Yes, there are now seven women in the town who are responsible for it. After all, the place is a bit big. If there are not enough manpower, it will be impossible to clean it all."
"Where do you get the supplies from?"
"There is a warehouse in the west of the town. We will receive a letter one day in advance. We can use that letter to get the supplies for the day from the warehouse manager."
"Then how are you paid?"
"It's all about sending letters."
Lu Ning nodded slightly: "Can you show me the letter?"
The hostess hesitated for a moment, and Lu Ning immediately said: "Did your employer tell you not to tell others? If not, then you can do so."
This made the hostess a little dizzy, but she finally went back to the room and took out some letters.
Lu Ning checked carefully and found that there were only two types of letters here, and they did not include the earliest job invitation. There was no writing on the letter for replenishing supplies, only a seal and a signature so expensive that it was hard to tell what it was. The salary in the salary letter has been taken away, and there is only a document recording the working hours and corresponding salary amount of the hostess here. There is only a seal under the document.
Both seals are round, like a three-pronged cross pattern inserted into the ground. The ink pad used is of good quality. Lu Ning twisted it with a little force and there was no stain. The letter paper has a smell of natural vegetation. Fresh scent.
"I want to keep two copies for reference, is that okay?" Lu Ning asked.
"This... won't cause me to lose this job, right?"
"It's just two expired letters. You could just throw them into the trash can and be picked up, right?"
================
Lu Ning's pace was not slow. By noon, she had visited all seven homes that had been entrusted with cleaning work. These families received the commission at different times. The earliest one started taking charge of this job seven years ago. What they heard from them was that the number of people cleaning the house seemed to have been maintained forever. Lu Ning was also able to do it smoothly. We need to go to the addresses of people who have given up their jobs.
She put the collected letters back into the RV, and happened to see Xia Xinhe and his wife driving a classic car in a hurry towards Baisha Lake.
"Hmm..." She thought for a moment, but didn't particularly care.
At noon, she bought a piece of bread from the bakery, and then took Lima's research notes from the nearby grocery store.
If Lima discovered some secrets about the lake house, then the place where he finally said he wanted to cultivate the witch's heart probably had something to do with it. Lu Ning took advantage of the time and found a relatively wealthy-looking house. The two-story building was obviously a new building. You could even see the antenna on the roof.
"Mrs. Taylor, I came here to ask you something." After Lu Ning saw the hostess here, she still cut directly to the main point.
Mrs. Taylor was an older woman in her fifties and slightly obese. She did not let Lu Ning enter the room, but looked at her warily: "I don't know you, miss."
"That's right. I passed by here by chance and met some friends. We planned to stay in a lakeside cabin for one night, but we didn't know who the owner was. I heard that you used to work there. Do you know anything about it? information?"
"Stay one night? The owner there? I don't know who the owner is there. I stopped doing that job five years ago. Wouldn't you go and ask the people who are still doing that job now?"
"It's a pity that they don't know either. I think you, who resigned suddenly, might know something before you took the liberty to visit... Let me tell you directly. I think it's very suspicious there, but I don't have any convincing evidence to convince those friends. That’s why I came to look for some evidence.”
What Lu Ning said after observing the words obviously touched Mrs. Taylor's mood. Her expression relaxed slightly: "You also think it's weird there? How can you think it if you haven't been there?"
"I just thought that at first, but the more I inquired, the more I felt there was something wrong. The owner there never showed up, but kept asking for maintenance work on the villa. The letter sent to you has a detailed work report, which proves that the owner there is with you I was watching you in some way when I went to work. In the end, you only transported the supplies in, so who will consume them? Why is there no work to transport the old items out? All this makes me feel that the house called the hut The villa is really not reassuring.”
After saying these words, Lu Ning's wrist was immediately held by Mrs. Taylor, and then she was quickly pulled into the house.
"Look! I don't think anyone cares about those problems!" Mrs. Taylor was like seeing a confidant. "I just came back early one day to take care of my daughter because she was sick, and my salary for that week was deducted from my salary next month. One hour’s wages! But except for a few of us, no one was in or near the villa at that time!”
"Is this why you noticed something was wrong?"
"What's even scarier is what happened later. I just complained at the time, thinking that the owner knew about it because he was watching us go home somewhere in the town, but the next day I received a letter explaining it! "
Mrs. Taylor waved her hand and took out a letter from the drawer, and excitedly put it into Lu Ning's hand: "Look! Look!"
Lu Ning unfolded the envelope.
[Dear Mrs. Taylor:
Your salary for leaving the job early in the second week of the last working month was deducted according to our agreement, but you complained about this "just leaving the job for special reasons", I will explain this.
The work I offer you is not too onerous and is simple in content. Correspondingly, we do not have sick leave and other provisions. You do not have to work. I will only deduct the corresponding part of your salary because I have not received your services.
I sympathize with your daughter's condition, but this matter has nothing to do with the services I should enjoy. Please understand.
Just in case, please allow me to remind you again:
If no work is performed within two working weeks, I will regard you as having resigned from this position and will no longer continue to pay wages.
wish you a happy life. 】
There is nothing wrong with the text of a very formulaic letter. What is problematic is the letter itself.
"That man is spying on me! He's spying on my family! Has anyone ever thought about how he knew our family was in trouble and needed money? No one! Everyone went to work happily..."
"Mrs. Taylor, please calm down, at least now you are no longer working for that person, right?"
"But how can I be sure that I'm not being monitored?" Taylor retracted into his chair and held his head in his hands. "Since I resigned, I really haven't received any letters, but that only makes me more uneasy...I I can’t even confirm it!”
"Your family has left."
"That's right, I asked them to leave." Mrs. Taylor said in a trembling voice, "There is a problem with that cabin and the owner there! I don't want to stay here anymore, so I finally got them to agree to move... You still have to come. Fortunately, I will leave this town tomorrow too."
She raised her head and smiled weakly at Lu Ning.
"Thank you for being willing to listen to what I have to say, girl. I still advise you not to go to that cabin casually. To be honest, I have not received any threats or intimidation. Everyone thinks that I am just imagining..."
"I believe not. People have strong intuition when facing danger. I believe you made a judgment that you will never regret in your life." Lu Ning reached out and held Mrs. Taylor's hands to calm her down, "Very much." Sorry for reminding you of this."
"No...I finally have someone who can trust me and let me say these words, and I feel a lot better."
"That way I can feel a little more at ease. Can I take this letter? It can also be used to convince my companions." Lu Ning shook the envelope.
"Of course, kind girl." Mrs. Taylor nodded.
After leaving this family, Lu Ning went to the blacksmith shop to get the dagger she needed. The blacksmith's skills were quite good, and the dagger was small and sharp. Lu Ning tried it with a piece of scrap iron, and found that the iron sheet of about two millimeters could be pierced with a little effort.
"Good thing, it's not an ordinary ore, right?"
"Haha, this is made from stones from the mines in the southwest. I don't have many pieces in my hand." A shrewd look appeared on the blacksmith's honest face. "After mixing those metals, whether it is hardness, toughness or durability, The degree of wear and tear has been greatly improved, but it’s a pity that that kind of ore can only be picked up by chance, and no one dares to mine it on a large scale.”
"Why? If it is such a good thing, there should be many mining companies willing to mine it, right?" Lu Ning asked.
"Dead people! It happened three or four times. Back then, the mine collapsed and exploded three or four days after the mine was opened. Seven or eight people died, so the project had to be stopped urgently. As time went by, no one came, and we could only wander around the outer circle. Pick it up.”
"It's a story with a bit of fantasy." Lu Ning put the money, which was about three times the price, on the blacksmith's workbench. "Then this dagger will be even more valuable. It may be one of the most meaningful collections during my journey." one."
"Hahaha, it's yours anyway, have a good time, ma'am."
By the time Lu Ning returned to the hotel and RV, it was also the time for the last group of people to prepare to leave.
Yu Guiting and the others also have a RV, and it looks more luxurious than Lu Ning's one. Asayama Seitaro and the others only have a van, which is a little larger than a van. Five people can squeeze into it, plus The luggage is really a bit too big to fit in.
"Doctor Lu, can you help us?" Asayama Seitaro had no choice but to ask Lu Ning for help.
"Why do you have so much luggage?" Lu Ning poked her head out of the car window and saw their plight.
"I didn't dissuade you in time..."
"We accidentally bought too much!!" Risu Sugiyama shouted.
After negotiating for a long time, the cold-faced Fujii Yukiyin sat in Lu Ning's co-pilot's seat.
