After hearing Tan Wan mention this name, Wang Mei was obviously stunned.
After a long while, she asked: "Why did Officer Tan suddenly ask about Xiao Qi?"
"I saw him painting on the wall in the corridor before, so when I saw these paintings on the wall in the backyard, I thought of him." Tan Wan asked with a slight smile, "Did he also paint these?"
Wang Mei shook her head: "This was painted by all the children together. Children like to draw, but there are brushes in the yard but no paper. If you want to draw on weekdays, you have to draw on the wall."
"Why, the courtyard doesn't provide drawing paper for children?" Tan Wan was confused.
Wang Mei looked at her and said, "It depends on what the fundraisers will give. What they give will determine what the children will have.
The kids use whatever the fundraiser sends, and nothing else. "
Tan Wan narrowed her eyes. She was a little confused about the logic: "I still don't understand. Even if the fundraiser only gives away brushes, the painting paper is not expensive. Isn't it just a matter of buying a few copies of the painting paper?"
"Oh, about buying some drawing papers..." Wang Mei imitated Tan Wan's words and mocked with a sarcastic tone.
Tan Wan thought that what he said was right, but he didn't know why Wang Mei had such a reaction.
She looked at Wang Mei and said in an unhappy tone, "Did I say something wrong?"
"Miss Tan has never lived in an orphanage and doesn't know the life in an orphanage. There are two completely different worlds here and outside.
The children here only have the lowest bottom line for survival. In order to eat a meal, they often have to endure abuse from some adults.
It's good enough for the children here to get paintbrushes, and they won't ask for drawing paper anymore. "
Wang Mei's tone was very calm, saying the cruelest facts in the most ordinary terms.
It was as if he were having a homely meal.
"What?" After hearing all this, Tan Wan frowned, "Why didn't you call the police?"
Wang Mei didn't answer immediately. She looked up and saw the big tree planted in the backyard.
Then she pointed at the tree and asked: "Last month, the gardener told me that two branches on this tree were rotten and asked me if I wanted to prune them. The pruning cost was 500 yuan.
But I felt that the gardener cheated me out of money again, so I drove him away. "
Tan Wan also looked up at the tree she was talking about. It was a huge banyan tree.
This banyan tree has grown for who knows how many years. Its crown is like a huge umbrella, with lush branches and leaves, and a rough trunk covered with traces of time.
It had hundreds of branches and looked very healthy, not like it was starting to rot.
Tanwan said nothing and watched Wang Mei holding the ladder and placing it under the banyan tree.
Wang Mei shouted to Tanwan to come closer, then she climbed up the ladder and pointed to some branches.
Tan Wan didn't realize it, so he stood under the tree and looked in the direction of Wang Mei's finger.
Among the layers of branches, some were indeed severely rotted and infected the surrounding branches.
If you don't look closely, you won't be able to tell from the outside that the tree is beginning to rot.
Wang Mei: "The Red Heart Orphanage is just like this big banyan tree. It has lived long enough and has an excellent reputation with the support of the media. Even if the inside is extremely rotten, as long as the outer shell is shiny, no one will believe it."
The next second, Wang Mei picked up the garden shovel leaning against the wall, raised her hand and cut off the two or three branches.
Under the influence of external force, the leaves of the banyan tree hit each other and made a loud sound. As those branches were cut off, the banyan tree quickly returned to calm.
At this moment, Wang Mei asked Tan Wan again: "As long as you cut off the rotten parts when others come to check, they will not find any clues about it. In the eyes of others, it will still be the same strong and beautiful banyan tree."
Tan Wan lowered his eyes and continued: "But the insect infestation cannot be concealed. If you want to cure the insect infestation, you need to hire a professional gardener. A professional gardener will not let such a golden and jade plant rot inside." People develop in society.”
Although Tanwan didn't say it directly, she believed that Wang Mei knew what she meant.
The media may be drowned under the manipulation of capital, but as long as professionals like the police intervene, the matter will definitely not go undisturbed and will be completely 'treated'.
Hearing this, Wang Mei stopped talking. She slowly helped the ladder down and then put the ladder back.
"Let me show you the room where the children live." Wang Mei was immersed in her own world and left after saying that.
Tanwan said nothing and followed him by default.
Before entering the backyard building, Tan Wan saw a deep and large sink.
There was a mop lying sideways in the sink, and a few drying rags were placed on the edge. Those rags looked very old, and the color had faded after repeated soaking.
Tan Wan stood by the sink and reached out to pick up one of the rags.
The dried rag feels hard in the hand, and the fibers have been washed and hairy.
She held the rag in her hand and stared at the sink.
There is still some water in the sink. The inside of the faucet is rusty and cannot be closed tightly, and it is dripping frequently.
"Teacher Wang." Tan Wan called to the person in front of him, "What is this sink used for?"
Wang Mei looked back at Tan Wan, then at the sink, and replied flatly: "As you can see, Officer Tan, they are used for cleaning dirty rags and dirty mops."
After Wang Mei finished speaking, she continued walking forward, as if she didn't want to waste time in such a place.
The depth of this sink is about 50Cm, which is a relatively deep sink, and the width is about 40Cm.
This kind of sink, which is deeper than wide, is specially designed to facilitate the washing of long-handled cleaning tools such as mops.
If Tan Wan substitutes Liu Xiaoyan's height into it, the height of the sink would be about Liu Xiaoyan's crotch.
If the murderer filled up the water in the sink, he pushed Liu Xiaoyan's head to the bottom of the sink.
The water depth of 50cm is enough for an adult to drown easily.
Tan Wan stood there and kept thinking in his mind that Liu Xiaoyan's body was sent from the Red Heart Orphanage.
Otherwise, if you want to transport a dead person, the goal is too big and it is not very convenient.
Therefore, Tan Wan also guessed that there was a high probability that Liu Xiaoyan also died in the Red Heart Orphanage.
Wang Mei walked in front and never heard the footsteps behind her.
She looked back and saw Tan Wan still staring at the sink.
So he stopped and turned around to interrupt Tan Wan's thoughts: "Officer Tan?"
