The layout of the room is very basic.
The apartment is divided into two floors by stairs. The entrance door is directly connected to the dining room. The open kitchen and living room are connected from the north to the south. You can have a panoramic view of the not spacious room at a glance.
In the living room is a small coffee table, and an old double sofa is placed next to the fireplace. The sunset shines on the carpet through the gaps in the blinds.
It can be seen that this home is not rich, but it is very warm.
Chu Zihang and Caesar looked around the room, while little Peter also secretly observed two "good-looking" teenagers at the corner of the stairs.
Since childhood, except for his parents, little Peter has never seen such a good-looking person.
Even the stars on TV can't compare.
But relatively speaking, the black-haired brother is better looking.
Although the blond man had a nice smile, he always had a domineering feeling about him. When little Peter looked at him, he always unconsciously thought of the big shot he had seen in school before, and even the principal had to treat him with respect.
Little Peter didn't like those people.
Although the black-haired brother was "cold", little Peter felt "warmth" from him.
It was strange, but comfortable and not annoying to Peter.
Little Peter's big eyes poked out from around the corner, and they were said to be peeking, but in fact the presence of his piercing eyes was quite obvious. The two people standing in the living room could only move their eyes around, trying to avoid interacting with him. Little Peter looked at each other.
Mei closed the door and followed in: "Please sit down, both of you."
Caesar and Chu Zihang sat down, and Mei went to the kitchen to get two glasses, poured two glasses of water and brought them over.
Chu Zihang stood up, took it, and put it on the coffee table.
Mei sat down and muttered: "Well, what are the economic surveys and relief funds? Can you two tell us in detail?"
Caesar and Chu Zihang looked at each other. They had already discussed the countermeasures on the way here. At this time, all they had to do was plan step by step.
The two took out the purchased certificates from their pockets and handed them to Mei.
Mei took the certificate and looked at it carefully.
Although she can't understand what's above, at this time, even if she doesn't understand, she still has to pretend to understand, because this can ensure equal communication in the subsequent conversation.
This is the wisdom of little people.
But she probably never would have thought that what these two upright young men took out were just two "fake" certificates.
However, it is said to be a "fake" certificate, but it is only "fake" in name. The certificate itself is actually the real thing, so it doesn't matter even if Mei can understand it.
Because the "fake" certificate itself is "real".
Mei took the two people's IDs and looked at them for a long time, and compared the photos on the IDs. After confirming that they were themselves, she handed the IDs back to the two of them: "These two gentlemen are really young and promising."
The two took the certificates, Caesar nodded, and Chu Zihang said: "You're welcome."
Caesar said: "We were sent down by the New York General Office because we heard that the official rolls in Queens are always not implemented well, and the relief funds never fall into the hands of the residents."
"The General Office felt that this matter was a bit fishy, so the two of us were asked to go to the bottom to conduct some statistics and investigate the whereabouts of the relief funds."
Aunt Mei asked Caesar for some details about the official book, and shook her head: "We have never heard of such a thing as relief funds. In the past two years, there seemed to be some kind of relief fund for poor families, but that was also limited. , there is only one quota in each block, and only the endless families who have no source of income are eligible to apply.”
"As for the social poverty relief fund you mentioned...I'm sorry, I haven't heard of it."
Chu Zihang nodded and took a notebook to record the situation. After all, he had to do a full set when acting.
Caesar frowned: "What is your family's main source of income and financial situation? Are there any special expenses?"
This was an issue that Caesar and Chu Zihang had discussed before. After discussion, the two agreed that after using their official status to relax Mei's vigilance, the focus of communication should be from two angles and a two-pronged approach.
The first is about Ben Parker’s work.
Both of them knew that Ben Parker was facing a mid-life unemployment crisis recently. Starting from this aspect, they could learn more about Ben Parker's interpersonal relationships and daily activities more quickly, and thus identify the prisoner.
The second point is from the cost aspect.
This point is mainly about investigating the pill that Ye Sheng brought back and that Gu Bei stole from Ben Parker.
This kind of thing cannot be homemade or picked up, there must be a provider.
To put it simply, this thing is a trading item and is bought.
Purchasing things will incur expenses, so start from this aspect and investigate the source of the medicine.
Mei didn't hold back when she heard Caesar's question. She opened her mouth and babbled about some things. Caesar nodded in a coping manner while listening. Chu Zihang was holding a notebook next to him, picking out some useful things and writing them down.
"In terms of expenses, the biggest expenses are the children's schooling and rent. The rest are not very important, but my husband has been under a lot of pressure recently..."
At this point, neither of them could analyze any outstanding clues from Mei's words. Chu Zihang thrust the notebook into Caesar's hand and asked, "Can I visit here?"
When Mei heard Chu Zihang's request, she thought that Chu Zihang wanted to observe the situation in the room to confirm what she said, so she stood up enthusiastically: "I will take you..."
Chu Zihang shook his head: "As long as you are here, my colleagues still need to record some things. If you really don't trust me..."
Chu Zihang turned to look at the boy who was peeping at the stairs: "Can I ask him to introduce this place to me?"
Mei followed Chu Zihang's gaze and saw Peter lying on the stairs looking curiously, and couldn't help but smile: "Peter~"
Peter jumped out at the top of the stairs, at a loss: "Yes, Aunt May...oh, I mean...I'd love to."
"Thank you Peter."
"You're welcome."
Peter came over and Chu Zihang followed him to the second floor.
Aunt Mei looked at the backs of the two figures, one large and one small, and suddenly felt as if two people had walked into the same time and space.
Now that I think about it, Richard and Mary were both handsome men and beauties back then. Their looks were no less good than these two teenagers, and they were both top students who graduated from a prestigious university. If they had lived to this day, the Parker family would have Life should be much better, and Peter can have a wonderful childhood like other children.
But it's not bad now. Peter's grades are very good and he's very obedient. If he can grow up smoothly, he should become an outstanding person like his parents.
Mei glanced at Chu Zihang, then turned to look at Caesar sitting there, thinking to herself: No matter how bad things are, he can become a young talent like these two teenagers.
Speaking of which...which university did Richard and Mary graduate from back then?
It seems to be ivy too, and it's called... what's it called?
At this time, Caesar's voice interrupted Mei's thoughts: "Madam, let's continue."
"okay."
——
Chu Zihang went up to the second floor under the leadership of Peter.
The second floor is a corridor with only two rooms on both sides. They are a master bedroom where the Parkers live and a second bedroom where Peter lives. At the end of the corridor is a small bathroom.
As soon as he went upstairs, Chu Zihang frowned slightly.
He smelled a strong, pungent smell.
It didn't come from the bathroom.
Although Chu Zihang's strength is not based on his cultivation, and he does not have the incredible skill of Liuku Immortal Thief like Gu Bei, but the physical condition blessed by dragon blood and the strengthening of the body have gradually improved his five senses. developed.
Even if you can't tell the ingredients of the taste, you can still make some rough guesses.
...Is it Chinese medicine?
Chu Zihang remained calm and followed little Peter.
Little Peter introduced: "On the left is Uncle Ben and Aunt May's room, and on the right is mine. Brother, which one do you want to see first?"
Chu Zihang identified the direction and determined that the smell came from little Peter's room.
How could there be Chinese medicine in a middle school student's room?
Could it be that this child is suffering from some disease?
However, most of Ben Parker's information was about Ben Parker himself, and a small part was about May and some people close to him. There were only a few places where Peter was mentioned, so he didn't know what was going on with this little guy. .
But his purpose this time was to investigate Ben Parker's living environment, so of course he started with Ben Parker's room.
Suppressing the curiosity in his heart, Chu Zihang pointed to the left hand side: "Let's take a look at your adult's room first."
"good."
Little Peter nodded and led Chu Zihang to push open the master bedroom on the left.
A very ordinary room, with a clean double bed, a wardrobe placed against the wall, and a small balcony with a few flower pots underneath and a few clothes hanging on them.
Chu Zihang looked around and found nothing special.
There was a home first aid kit in the closet, and there were two white medicine bottles without any label on the bedside table. Chu Zihang subconsciously felt that the medicine bottles were strange, but after opening them, he found that they were empty.
but……
Why does this medicine bottle smell like Chinese medicine?
Chu Zihang took the medicine bottle and asked little Peter: "What is this?"
Little Peter recognized it after just one glance: "This is Uncle Ben's medicine, but these should have been eaten, and the bottles can be kept for filling."
An idea flashed in Chu Zihang's mind: "Medicine?"
He remembered that the pills Ye Sheng brought back were said to be those taken by Gu Bei from Ben Parker.
And according to what Gu Bei said, the pill still smelled of blood.
This medicine...
Could it be the same as that medicine?
Chu Zihang asked: "What kind of medicine is this? Where did it come from? Is your uncle Ben sick? How long has he been taking this medicine?"
A series of questions confused little Peter: "Well, brother, can you ask me one by one?"
Chu Zihang calmed down and repeated the question.
Peter thought for a while: "Because Uncle Ben seemed to be very uncomfortable recently, so I went to have a check-up. The doctor said it was due to too much stress, so he gave Uncle Ben this medicine."
"That doctor is..."
"It's Dr. Bryan. He runs a psychological clinic in West Midtown, Manhattan. He prescribed the medicine to Uncle Ben."
After answering Chu Zihang's question, little Peter hesitated and asked: "Big brother..."
"What's wrong?"
"Is there something wrong with that medicine?"
Chu Zihang shook his head: "Nothing, can I take this medicine bottle?"
"Um."
Peter nodded vigorously.
Chu Zihang put away the medicine bottle and left the room with Peter.
This trip was not in vain. I gained a lot of information about Bryan Clinic.
But Chu Zihang had no plans to leave now.
There was something that kept arousing Chu Zihang's curiosity, and that was the weird smell of Chinese medicine that filled the second floor.
Thinking about it carefully, this smell is actually somewhat similar to the smell of Chinese medicine in the medicine bottle just now.
And this smell still wafts from little Peter's room.
Chu Zihang couldn't let go unless he took a look in little Peter's room.
Moreover, he came here to inspect the environment. He couldn't just inspect one room, right?
Without him having to speak, Peter was already standing at the door of his room: "Well, big brother, my room is a little messy. Do you really want to see it?"
Chu Zihang squatted down and touched Peter's head: "Just taking a look, don't be nervous."
"Um."
Peter nodded and opened the door. A strong smell of traditional Chinese medicine hit his face and hit Chu Zihang's nose hard.
——
"So, it's just the two of them?"
Gu Bei looked at the old man at the counter and confirmed the answer from the old man again.
The old man nodded.
"Yes, the business of our medicine hall is good. There are many more people coming in and out to get medicine every day than in the country."
"But it is true that the only two people who came to grab medicine without a prescription, and the strangest thing is that these two people did not come together, but they took the same ingredients."
"At that time, we were still wondering, when did these foreigners understand Chinese medicine? But fortunately, what they wanted was not any strange ingredients. Those few medicinal materials had no side effects even if they were mixed with boiled water and drank. If there is no prescription, there is no prescription. Come on, just give it to them directly."
Gu Bei tapped his index finger on the table: "Are the medicinal materials they want cinnamon, ginseng, inula, and licorice and yellow schisandra?"
"Yes, these medicines are quite special, so they are easy to remember."
Gu Bei nodded: "Tell me again what those two people look like?"
The old man thought for a moment and said, "Both of them are foreigners."
"The one who came first was an adult. He was a man with very long hair. He was 1.8 meters tall. He was well-dressed, with a robe on his body and sunglasses and a mask on his face. At first glance, he looked like a big star. I really can’t see exactly what it looks like.”
"The one coming from behind is a kid. He looks like he's in middle school. He's just as tall as my waist. He's thin and small."
"It's strange to say that this child actually didn't know the prescription or the name of the medicine. Our people listened to him for a long time before guessing the medicine he wanted to buy."
"Later, our people took a pair of transaction records and discovered that these two people actually bought the same medicinal materials."
Gu Bei frowned: "Child...?"
