"Despite this, madam, there is no need to be too depressed. It's just that this time it has indeed caused a lot of trouble to the neighbors, so we need to work hard to repair the relationship."
"Yes, I will keep this in mind." Cheng Mingxiang raised her head slightly, "Will you be fined if there is a fire at home?"
"Basically yes, the fine should not be large. However, you must not bargain or raise a defense, otherwise it will have the opposite effect. Just pay the proposed amount."
"I know. Thank you for your kind guidance. It makes me feel more at ease."
"What are your plans for the future?"
"Huh?"
"Because you lost your home and husband all at once."
"I plan to stay in 'Fangxian Hotel' temporarily. The situation will always improve in the future."
"Well, does the hotel always provide room and board?"
"Yes."
"Speaking of which, even if you take a vacation, you have no home to go to. It's really sad. Wouldn't it be better for you to rent a room?"
"Well, I will consider it carefully."
Detective Hao Dong quickly drank his tea, took out cigarettes from his pocket, and held one in his mouth. The pack of cigarettes was crumpled, and he lowered his head to light it. At this time, Cheng Mingxiang quickly took out two "hundred yuan" banknotes from her wallet and put them into the paper.
"This is my little thought, thank you for taking care of me..." She handed the paper bag to Detective Hao Dong.
"What is this for?"
The detective's eyes fell on the paper package handed out by Cheng Mingxiang, and he quickly raised his eyes to look at Cheng Mingxiang.
"This is a little bit of my heart."
"Don't be like this!" The detective immediately pushed the paper bag back, "I have no reason to take your money, take it back as soon as possible!"
"But……"
"I can't accept this thing. The police force has clear regulations that strictly prohibit police officers from accepting gifts. No matter what the reason is, they cannot accept money or goods."
"You have taken great care of me. If you don't accept this small gift, I will feel really sorry. I'm really sorry. Can you really not accept it?"
"I've told you several times, if it doesn't work, it won't work. Take it back as soon as possible." The detective frowned and said with a troubled expression, "I suggest you go to the fire brigade to write a letter of repentance and go through other procedures today. The organizer They will teach you how to fill in the relevant documents.”
"Thanks!"
"Both the fire brigade and the criminal police detachment believe this was an accident. If there are no other suspicions, there should be no further involvement."
"knew."
Cheng Mingxiang was thinking about the meaning of the detective's statement that the fire brigade determined it was an accident. Did he blurt it out, or did he mean something else? She couldn't yet decipher what he meant. However, the detective's eyes always stayed on her face consciously.
"Okay, if there is anything I don't understand in the future, please give me your advice."
"No problem. Just call the criminal police detachment and say you want to see Hao Dong, and they will transfer it to me right away... Otherwise, I can go to your place of work and explain."
Detective Hao Dong always stared at Cheng Mingxiang's face.
Cheng Mingxiang returned to the fire scene, greeted her neighbors, then went to the fire station to fill out a letter of repentance, and then returned to the "Fangxian Hotel". At the same time, she honestly admitted to the landlady that she was a married woman. Her married status, which she had kept hidden until now, was now fully exposed due to the fire.
"It doesn't matter." The landlady sneered while smoking a cigarette, "I have already guessed that you are married."
"I'm sorry!" Cheng Mingxiang apologized, "I was worried that I might not be hired if I revealed my married status, so I kept it secret. I'm really sorry!"
"It's not just you, other waitresses may also be hiding it from me, but I know very well which one is married." The landlady curled up her cheeks and took a puff of cigarette, then blew it out gently, looking at Cheng Mingxiang with a pair of black eyes, " Having said that, your situation is quite pitiful.”
"Well...because it was not convenient to talk about it, I hid it from the landlady. My husband's situation has made me suffer a lot." Cheng Mingxiang said this without any special meaning, just stating the facts.
"Can't he come out to work?"
It seems that the landlady does not know the actual situation of Cheng Mingxiang's family.
"Yeah, he can't find a job at all because he can't move easily."
"Oh, so you couldn't escape the fire?"
"Um."
"How pitiful. Even if your husband is so incompetent, you were not at home when he was burned alive. You must be feeling guilty."
Cheng Mingxiang was very grateful to the landlady for saying this - she was not at home on the night of the fire.
"Yeah... I really can't bear to see him die so miserably."
"Of course, he is your husband after all. You must have had good memories together."
"I should have been nicer to him if I had known better. I felt so guilty for not being with him when he died."
"There's nothing we can do about it. After all, it's an accident, which is different from death from illness."
"Um."
"Your home and all your belongings were burned down all at once. You must have a headache. What are your plans for the future?"
"Yes, if the boss lady doesn't mind, I plan to stay here and continue working."
"Really, of course I have no problem. In the future, if you save some money, you can buy some new things...are you not insured?"
"Well, I don't have the money to buy insurance."
"What a shame. If you could get the death benefit, you might be able to buy a lot of things. You are so unlucky!"
"Um……"
"However, once bad luck goes away, maybe good luck will follow." The boss's words seemed to be alluding to Xiao Long's appearance.
Cheng Mingxiang had a gut feeling that Xiao Long would come over tonight. No, it should be said that he had to come. Because, no matter how the police investigate the fire, he must cooperate with the performance according to the subsequent situation. What the landlady said may bring good luck in the future probably meant that Xiao Long would come here to find her. Her husband Zhao Kuan has disappeared from this world, and she is free and escaped as she wished. Isn't this what Xiao Long looks forward to most? This time, Xiao Long will definitely tell the truth about his intentions. Now, she finally felt relieved, stepping out of the darkness and facing the light.
The head waitress of "Fangxian Hotel" heard that someone was visiting and walked to the back door. There is a spacious road in front of the hotel gate, allowing taxis to enter and exit. The back door is much smaller. In addition to hotel employees, there are also manufacturers and salesmen who come in and out.
A man about forty-two or thirteen years old, with a broad forehead and sparse eyebrows, stood in front of her. The other person was wearing a wrinkled suit, a crooked tie, and was carrying a black bag. At first glance, he looked like a salesman from some company. These people mainly come to "Fangxian Hotel" to sell various products, and there are many black market traders selling foreign wine. However, the man who came to visit today was not a black marketeer. He claimed to be an investigator for a life insurance company.
"Is there a waitress here named Cheng Mingxiang?" the man asked in a sociable tone.
"Yes, yes." The female foreman always hated Cheng Mingxiang, so her tone was very cold.
"Is she here?"
"She worked late shifts for several days and would probably sleep until one in the afternoon."
"Oh, working until early morning?"
"Well, we have morning and evening shifts here... If you are in a hurry to find her, would you like me to call her now?"
"Thank you, no need." The man waved his hand hurriedly, and then said with a smile, "Ms. Cheng Mingxiang must be very busy because of the fire yesterday."
"That's right. I didn't know she had a husband before, and my colleagues only found out about her situation because of the fire. She's really good at hiding it!"
"My husband has passed away. It's so pitiful. He must be very sad."
"What's the situation," the female foreman sneered, "I can't tell... Oh, are you asking for her husband's insurance claim? How much is her insurance?" the female foreman asked with bright eyes.
"Oh, it's not that important. My job is just to conduct inspections."
The man looked at the appearance of the building of "Fangxian Hotel".
"Has Miss Cheng Mingxiang been here the night before yesterday?"
"Yes. I work the morning shift and go to bed after ten o'clock. Cheng Mingxiang is on duty until four o'clock in the morning."
"So, Miss Cheng Mingxiang works with other waitresses?"
"Yes. However, I heard that Cheng Mingxiang was drinking with guests in the guest room."
"Oh? What time does it start?"
"The next morning, I heard from other colleagues that she drank from midnight to about three in the morning."
"Do you know the name of that guest?"
"Sorry, we can't disclose the name of the tenant." The female foreman refused, and then continued, "However, the other party seems to be very fond of Cheng Mingxiang. Every time she comes, she will come to the room to drink and chat."
"What business does that customer do?" Hao Dong asked again.
"I'm not sure either." The female foreman said vaguely.
"So, Miss Cheng Mingxiang stayed in that room until three in the morning?"
"Yeah, I didn't even know there was a fire at home."
"Oh," the man kept looking at the back door and asked, "Aren't there people patrolling here at night?"
"The old man in charge of the boiler occasionally comes out to patrol the night, but it has no effect. Things are still stolen in the hotel, and we often receive complaints from guests. Although the case has been reported to the local police station, their investigation is so-so, and the thief has not been caught yet. Even the criminal police did not try their best to handle the case... How much insurance did Cheng Mingxiang have?"
This so-called employee of the insurance company is actually Hao Dong, a detective from the criminal police detachment. He disguised himself and came to the hotel to investigate the case.
