The carriage stopped outside John's Textile Factory. ?
Zhang Heng and Holmes got out of the car. At this time, a man with a mouth full of rotten teeth and a sharp mouth came up, "Gentlemen, is there anything I can do for you?"
"We are going in to find someone," Holmes said.
"I'm afraid this is not in line with the rules. There are only girls inside, and you two gentlemen..." The man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks shook his head and said, "It's too outrageous, it's too outrageous."
Holmes reached into his pocket and took out a half-pound gold coin, and threw it into the hand of the man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, "It only takes a quarter of an hour."
The latter frowned and pretended to be embarrassed.
Holmes was too lazy to act with him and reached out to take back the gold coin.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, the boss is not here, I can find a way to help you accommodate... But let's agree first, it's only a quarter of an hour, it can't be any longer." The man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks said hurriedly, and quickly put the gold coin back into his pocket. inside.
Then he took the two people into the textile factory.
Since the invention of the steam engine by Watt ushered in the industrial revolution, the steam engine gradually replaced the previous water-powered spinning, and the textile factory no longer needed to be built by the river. However, because the John Textile Factory was founded relatively early, it has not been relocated and remains at the same location. It's just that the equipment has been updated.
This was Zhang Heng's first time to see such a scene. The huge factory building was filled with machines. Pipes passed under the ceiling. The tracks rotated with the pulleys, affecting each sewing machine. The female workers wore hats and aprons and stood on the machine. Repeating boring and boring work before, like a string of marionettes.
Here, there is no difference between humans and machines.
The man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks asked, "Who are you looking for? Maybe I can help you. There is no one here that I don't know."
Holmes and Zhang Heng exchanged glances. Zhang Heng put his arm around the shoulder of the sharp-mouthed man and said, "To tell you the truth, we also want to open a textile factory. This time we came to your factory to learn from your experience."
The man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks immediately became vigilant when he heard this, "That's not okay. If you had said so earlier, I wouldn't have let you in!"
"Don't be so absolute," Zhang Heng said, "We want to recruit a group of skilled workers. If you can help us, the price can be easily negotiated."
The man with the sharp mouth and monkey cheeks was moved when he heard this, but he said, "No, how can I betray Mr. Stotts? You must know that Mr. Stotts gave me this job, and he is still a distant relative of mine. There's no way I could do anything bad to him."
"If done well, this will be a lot of money," Zhang Heng said, "enough for you to eat, drink and have fun for a long time."
…………
While the two were talking, Holmes quietly left the place.
Twenty minutes later, Zhang Heng and Holmes met again outside the textile factory. The man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks walked the two of them to the road and said excitedly, "I will make a list soon. I guarantee that they will all work hard. An honest person with no small thoughts."
"The relationship is good then. We will come back to you after we confirm the location." Zhang Heng said.
Seeing the man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks turning around and returning to the textile factory with satisfaction, Holmes said again, "Yes, I read you right. You are born to do this. With a little training, those idiots at Scotland Yard are no match for you. "
"how about you?"
Holmes chuckled twice, "I've basically determined who the murderer is."
"Oh? Who is it?"
"Don't worry, I will announce the conclusion naturally when I collect enough evidence. In a sense, what Gregson said is good. It is a big rule in our industry to make inferences before collecting enough evidence." Don't worry, once you prejudge someone as the murderer, you will subconsciously ignore the evidence that is not conducive to your inference. Gregson himself made such a mistake. He believed that the boy named Paul killed Mo. Li, so all the evidence collected is unfavorable to that boy."
Holmes paused and then said, "The basis of deduction is observation. First, you need to use your excellent observation skills to see the small details that are ignored. Each small detail is like a dot on a white paper. Finally, you Draw a circle on a piece of paper, enclosing all the dots, and that's the answer you're looking for."
"The image is vivid," Zhang Heng asked, "The chemical plant where Paul works happens to be right next door. Should we also go and take a look?"
"It couldn't be better," said Holmes. "I am indeed looking for someone there."
The two then went to a chemical factory nearby. Most of the people working here were men, so they were not as strict as the textile factory. However, there were also supervisors. Holmes spent another half a pound and took the time to chat with a few people in the factory. Paul, after returning, touched his chin and said, "Interesting."
"how?"
"Different people here have completely opposite opinions about Paul, but this is normal. I probably guessed something before. Gregson has been here before. He asked the factory manager and concluded that Paul is an old man." Fried dough sticks, he makes trouble all day long, he is lazy and cunning, but I asked his co-workers, and they spoke highly of him, saying that he has a good heart, is always willing to help others, and will stand up for others... and This may be why he is not liked by factory managers," Holmes said.
"Where was he on the night of the incident?" Zhang Heng asked.
"This is the problem. The chemical factory gets off work half an hour later than the textile factory. After the chemical factory got off work, Paul went to find Molly as usual. This is a well-known thing. However, no one was with him after that. No one can testify for him, but it doesn’t matter, after we catch the murderer, we can naturally clear his name.”
"Where do we go next?"
"We have completed all the investigations that we can do. Let's leave the rest to the Baker Street team." Holmes said, "Let's call it a day and go home."
…………
Zhang Heng, the name of the Baker Street Detective Team, is naturally no stranger to that group of dirty, smelly, and noisy brats. Every time they appear, Mrs. Hudson's face will definitely turn into a bad one. And you must keep an eye on them all the time, for fear that something will be missing from the living room if you don't pay attention.
Holmes took out three shillings and gave it to the leading boy named Wiggins, "For your carriage fare, keep an eye on the guy named Pearson who works at the Wood Chemical Factory, see what he has done, and then report it to me." Yes, from now on you can come to see me alone and let the others wait outside, otherwise Mrs. Hudson will kill me."
"Yes, Commander!" The group of children shouted loudly, standing upright at the same time, and then dispersed with smiles.
