The pleasant drinking party did not last too long and was interrupted by an uninvited guest. The visitor was a tall man with a fair complexion and gray hair, but he looked a bit sad now. , as soon as he entered the door, he said, "Something happened."
"When did you come to see me unless something happened?" Holmes sat on the sofa, but he was not in a hurry at all, and introduced Zhang Heng.
"Gregson, the leader of Scotland Yard, of course, compared with his companions," he said, looking at Gregson again, "Zhang Heng, my mysterious and lovely new roommate from the East, we are discussing together The professional influence on the opponent's shape, and at the same time destroy my treasured port wine, you came just in time, do you want to have a drink together?"
"I'm afraid now is not a good time to drink." The police chief said, while looking at Zhang Heng.
"Don't worry, my friend is very strict with his mouth and won't talk nonsense." Holmes said, "So you can feel free to say anything."
"Okay," Gregson obviously wasn't dealing with Holmes for the first time. Hearing this, he no longer dwelled on Zhang Heng's problem and said straightforwardly, "I encountered a very difficult case."
"I doubt it, but you can go on."
"In the afternoon, a police patrol found a body on the Thames River, and asked a nearby boatman to help fish it out. It was a young girl, but other than that, we had no other clues. There was no trace on the poor child. There are no clothes, jewelry, or other things that can prove her identity. We don’t know her name, where she lives, what she does for a living, and whether she has any friends or relatives. Simply put, we know nothing about her. No one has come to report missing persons recently. You said that you are most interested in cases like this that have no place to start, so I came to you as soon as possible."
"A wise move." After hearing Gregson's description, Holmes showed a hint of excitement on his face. He turned to Zhang Heng and said, "My friend, I'm sorry that our reception has to end early."
"It doesn't matter, work is important." Zhang Heng expressed understanding.
Holmes stood up and put on his coat again, but then he said again, "Where is your hat? The theoretical course is over. Now we should go to practice."
Zhang Heng was a little surprised. He could tell that Gregson didn't really want him to be involved in this case, and he and Holmes had only known each other for less than two hours. Although they had been chatting quite speculatively before, by the time There was no need for Holmes to be with him when he was doing business.
Although Zhang Heng had the main mission, he did not expect to encounter the opportunity immediately on the first day. Holmes is a person with excellent observation skills, and Zhang Heng happened to have many secrets, so in the past two hours He didn't have an easy life. Even though he had mentioned that he wanted to learn from Holmes before, Zhang Heng didn't want to be too eager, lest he go too far.
But now it seems that Sherlock Holmes's problem of having roommates when handling cases is still as serious as in the original work. Not long after he and Watson met, he couldn't help but drag the latter to the crime scene, but if Zhang Heng remembers correctly, at that time Watson has been living with Holmes for several weeks, and they have figured out their respective personalities. This time, he and Holmes are really better than passers-by.
The police chief on the side opened his mouth, but in the end nothing came out.
Zhang Heng naturally stopped being polite when he saw this, and followed Holmes out, and the three of them got into a four-wheeled carriage parked outside the door.
Most of the stories in "The Sherlock Holmes" took place in the late 19th century, when Britain was in the Victorian Era. During this period, Britain completed the Industrial Revolution and expanded overseas colonies. Its politics, economy, and culture developed rapidly, and industrial production With more capabilities than the rest of the world combined, the Empire on which the sun never sets at this time is truly the center of the world.
As the capital, London is undoubtedly the world's largest city with a population of more than six million.
However, the gap between rich and poor here is also very huge. In the words of Dickens at the beginning of "A Tale of Two Cities" - this was the best of times and the worst of times.
The rapid expansion of the population in a short period of time made the city of London overcrowded. Zhang Heng still remembered some data seen by later generations. In a place about 1,200 feet in size, there were a total of 2,795 families living in it, with a population of more than 10,000. His ancestors Three generations of grandchildren were crowded into a small room, like piglets in a pigsty.
The salary of ordinary workers is less than ten pounds a year, most of which goes into the pockets of landlords. They eat low-quality bread mixed with expired flour, potato flour and even alum and chalk flour, and they dare not get sick. Without money to buy clothes or toys for my children, it’s hard to get enough rest.
In contrast, take Watson, who is a military doctor in the book, as an example. Although he is not a rich man, he can already live very comfortably in London. He can receive a daily allowance of 11 shillings and 6 pence a month. After that, you can have an income of about 17 pounds. As for the big landowners and factory owners, they have even more money in their pockets. They hang out in various dance theaters every day, and their bed partners change again and again.
…………
The carriage drove towards the Thames. Holmes was in a good mood along the way and talked endlessly about the concert he had attended before. Unfortunately, the two companions beside him found it difficult to discuss this topic. They have too many things in common with him. Sheriff Gregson is still worried about the case at hand and seems a little absent-minded. Although Zhang Heng has practiced piano for a period of time, he only knows about the musicians of the 19th century. Limited to the more famous ones.
"I like music. It is one of the few things in this boring and boring world that can make my nerves excited. Apart from that, there are all kinds of cases. The more bizarre the passwords, the more complicated the analysis." The happier I am at work, but unfortunately there are fewer and fewer criminals who are willing to use their brains," Holmes seemed to be in high spirits and started talking.
"In most cases, you can actually find similarities or similarities in previous cases, so when you are at a loss, you can always gain something by looking through old files."
"Why, do you have an archive where you live?" Gregson interjected.
"I do have the habit of collecting newspaper clippings to record difficult cases, but more records are here." Holmes pointed to his head and smiled.
