"Su He, watch your words!" Wen Jie knew Su He's temperament, and strange words would slip out from time to time.
With his mind filled with all kinds of culinary information, Su He smiled and said, "Officer Wen, this officer's question is just too puzzling."
Officer Qiu was not angry. Instead, he continued asking, "After you came out, you were holding a pair of underpants. What was that about?"
"This, this, this..." Su He awkwardly lowered his head. He didn't expect he couldn't escape this topic. He should have chosen excavator operation skills instead. He whispered, "I couldn't hold it in. I pooped a little in the underwear."
Officer Qiu nodded and said, "Thank you for your cooperation. We may contact you again at any time, so please keep your phone on 24 hours. You can leave now."
Su He didn't move, as if waiting for something.
Officer Qiu said again, "Mr. Su, you can leave now."
"Um... Can I ask how much is the reward for this case?" Su He looked up and smiled awkwardly.
Officer Qiu didn't say anything. He left with several other officers.
"Su He, let's go back first. Yang, send him back." Wen Jie glanced at Su He and left too.
Sitting in Officer Yang Lin's car, Su He looked at his phone in surprise. The small supermarket on Huanghuai Road, yesterday morning, the boss called the police that his daughter was killed. She was only 22 years old.
In the video, the boss had collapsed on the floor, crying uncontrollably. According to nearby shop owners, because the boss's wife was bedridden, the father and daughter took turns managing the shop. It just happened to be the daughter's shift that night when she was brutally murdered.
Yang Lin saw Su He searching for information about the case on his phone. He couldn't help reminding, "Don't bother. This time it's not as simple as before..."
"Hehe... Officer Yang, I'm just taking a look. By the way, for such a big case, why hasn't a wanted notice with reward been released?" Su He didn't find it online.
"You've watched so many TV shows and movies. Why don't you guess?" Yang Lin didn't think Su He could be helpful this time.
Su He thought for a moment, then asked, "I know. It's because the police haven't identified any suspects yet."
Yang Lin remained silent. Su He also fell silent.
Yang Lin dropped Su He off at the entrance of Liu Third Sister's Home Cooking Restaurant. Su He got on his e-bike and started taking orders. He planned to quit his job tomorrow.
......
In the city center square of Jinan City, crowds of people gathered. The annual folk food competition finals started today. Nineteen chefs were preparing ingredients on stage. There was still an hour before the judges came to do the tasting.
However, one cooking station remained unoccupied.
Below the stage, Dong Li, boss of the Taste Pavilion Hotel, was yelling angrily into his phone, "I don't care if you got into a car accident or not. You must get to the venue immediately!"
On the other end of the phone, a man was silent for a moment then simply hung up and turned off his phone.
Dong Li's face was gloomy. He didn't expect that right before the finals, his head chef had disappeared with two other chefs.
The food competition was an excellent publicity opportunity for a hotel. Now, Taste Pavilion was left with only a few apprentice employees, all too timid to even look Dong Li in the eye.
The organizers had come three or four times. If still no one was on stage preparing in the last 30 minutes, they would be disqualified directly.
At this moment, Xue Dagui, boss of the Phoenix Restaurant, came over with an ironic laugh, "Boss Dong, I heard your chefs from Taste Pavilion have fled. Should I lend you a couple of my men to make it look less empty?"
Dong Li glared at him with clenched fists, yelling in anger, " Xue Dagui, I knew you were behind this, bastard!"
Xue Dagui grinned exaggeratedly at Dong Li and shouted loudly, "I'm warning you, watch what you say! I'll sue you for slander, do you hear me? I'll sue you for slander!"
"He's slandering me! He's slandering me!" Xue Dagui's voice was like squealing pigs, and he got the attention of everyone in the square.
The organizers came to disperse the crowd and delivered the final notice to Dong Li. If in the last 10 minutes Taste Pavilion still couldn't get someone up on stage, they would give up their qualification by default.
It should be noted that Taste Pavilion had been the champion for three consecutive years. No one expected this year their chefs would go missing.
"Boss, should I go instead?" A kitchen apprentice said.
Dong Li glared at him, "You? To go and make a fool of yourself? Don't you know your limits?"
Just then, Dong Li's wife, Chen Ying, came over and whispered something to him. Dong Li asked in surprise, "Would that work?"
Chen Ying smiled plainly, "What's the worst that could happen? It would be the same as giving up. Plus, with Taste Pavilion's chefs gone, this is a good chance to hire some new ones."
Chen Ying fetched cardboard and writing brushes, handing them over to Dong Li.
Dong Li let out a bold laugh then started writing.
10,000 for a dish! Sincere invitation for capable chef to come on stage and cook one dish. Win first place: 50,000 reward. Second place: 30,000 reward. Third place: 10,000 reward. Requires deposit of 10,000. No refund if unplaced!
Dong Li had loved calligraphy since he was little. His brush strokes were swift and fluid, drawing praise from onlookers.
In the final 8 minutes, Dong Li stood on the table holding the sign up high. The crowd gasped.
Make one dish, win 10,000!
But after seeing the conditions, they all sighed. Rewards were only for the top three rankings. Also, they needed to make a 10,000 deposit that would be forfeited if they were not placed.
Dong Li looked at them with anticipation. Debate in the crowd, yet no one dared to stand out.
Without the high bar to entry, everyone might have wanted to try their luck. But who would want to risk 10,000 for nothing? If they really were skilled enough, they would already be on stage.
Time trickled by second by second as Dong Li's expression turned increasingly disappointed. It looked like for this competition Taste Pavilion would become the laughingstock of Jinan City. Not only failing to qualify for the finals, they had even lost their chefs.
In the final minute, Dong Li put the sign down, preparing to leave.
Suddenly, a figure in yellow squeezed through the crowd and asked, "does your offer still stand?"
Dong Li was surprised. Staring at the delivery man before him, he reflexively said, "Yes, it stands."
"Great then." Su He gasped for breath, then took out 10,000 yuan from his pocket slamming it on the table, "Let's begin!"
Dong Li looked at Su He's handsome and youthful face, then at his delivery uniform, then at the 10,000 yuan on the table, thinking, where did this idiot come from?
By now Su He had already run up onto the stage, shouting at Dong Li, "Boss, come give me a hand!"